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TRURO-CAPE COD 



OR 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS 



BY 

SHEBNAH RICH 

Mkmbkk of the Nkw England Histouic Genealogical Society 




SECOND EDITION, REVISED AMD CORRECTED. 



BOSTON 

T). LOTHROP AND COMPANY 

7,2 FRANKLIN STREET 

1884. 






*» 



COPYRICHT, 1883. 

D Lothrop and Company. 




PREFACE. 

TRISTRAM SHANDY did not want to shake his credit foi 
veracity by telling an improbable story, however indis- 
putable the facts. We have not ventured into that debatable 
land between credulity and unbelief. Whatever the quality of 
our work, whether fish, flesh, or good red herring, we have 
taken the liberty of telling it honestly and in our own way. 
Our constant purpose has been to write nothing we should 
wish unwritten, and to leave unwritten nothing that belongs 
legitimately to our history. That we have not fully accom- 
plished this purpose would be the most reasonable confession 
in the world. 

In every community there is an unconscious force, or sen- 
timent, that lives in a thousand multiform conditions. 
Seemingly light as gossamer, it is tough as the Tellman 
shield of seven bull skins. Its intuitions of a good name — 
of home and kindred, in a described orbit, are among the 
best of human sensibilities. That the Cape people share 
quite freely in this sentiment is altogether praiseworthy, but 
it is a virtue susceptible of abuse and morbidly sensitive. 

I have aimed to write of them as they were, according to 
the best history and the best tradition ; as they are, accord- 
ing to my own observation and experience. I have called things 
by their own names ; narrated the customs, habits, traditions, 
character, personalities and individualities of the people ; what 
they said and what they did ; their toil and poverty ; their 
fortunes and misfortunes ; their energy, economy and thrift ; 



9-1*4 



6 PREFACE. 

the lights and shadows of their lives. That the soil is light 
and sand abundant ; that the trees are stunted and hills 
barren ; that the bleak winds sweep over the hills, and some- 
times blow the turkeys' wings over their heads, I cannot 
deny, and have no apologies to make. My duty, if to write 
at all, was to write honestly and impartially. The verdict is 
with the reader. These remarks are well intended. Some 
who have written well of the Cape, have not been well 
received. 

Thoreau's Cape Cod, the most scholarly, truthful, and 
unprejudiced description that I have seen of the Cape, was 
not popular with the press or the people there. I do not 
remember an important misstatement of fact, an uncharitable 
or unchristian fling, in his book. On the contrary, the out- 
come of his conclusions is always directly or indirectly 
complimentary. He did not discourse of statesmen, philoso- 
phers, scholars, money kings, or dilettanti. He wrote of and 
described a hardy race of fishermen and sailors, of whom he 
seemed to be proud, as of kinship. Men of the gaberdine, 
with the face and language and grotesque analysis of that 
day. Himself a philosopher, a student of men, and an 
honest man, he wrote of them as they seemed to him, and 
honored them as the world has ever done, for their bold 
daring, hard common sense, and bluff independence. Praise 
enough. 

It is true that Thoreau drew a long bow, and swept a wide 
field in his comparisons not always flattering to sectional vanity. 
But his was a wide culture, a liberal spirit, and an inde 
pendent nature. Cape Cod Folks can scarcely complain with 
a good grace of methods of speech that require broad 
latitudes. 

Of all literary work, local history is ungrateful in its best 
conditions. If single-handed and doubtfully environed, the odds 
magnify. It is, however, pleasant to acknowledge much encour- 
agement and many courteous attentions in this arduous work. 



PREFACE. j 

I am under obligations to Mr. Josiah Paine of Harwich, for 
papers and cheerful assistance. To Rev. Frederic Freeman 
of Sandwich, and his daughter Miss Isabella, for friendly offices. 
To Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, President of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, for a kind letter; to Charles Dearie, LL.D., 
Secretary of the same Society, for many favors. To the offi- 
cers of the Boston Public Library, Athaeneum, and the New 
England Historic and Genealogical Society, for invariable polite- 
ness and accommodation. To William B. Merrill Esq., of 
Boston, Walter T. Avery Esq., of New York, and Benjamin 
Lombard Jr., of Galesburg, 111., for timely encouragement. To 
Freeman S. Atkins, of Charlestown, for Army and Navy papers. 
To Captain Jeremiah Paine, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for legend- 
ary lore. To. Willard S. Allen, A. M., Librarian of the 
New England Methodist and Historical Society, and Rev. 
J. B. Hengely, of Bridgewater, for papers. To George H. 
Clark, town clerk of Eastham, for attentions. To Rev. J. W. 
Hamilton, of the People's Church, Rev. C. N. Smith of Ips- 
wich, and J. H. Davis, Superintendent of Public Schools of 
Somerville, for letters. Also to the following of Truro : To 
Rev. Dr. Noble, for use of church records, letters, and encour- 
agement in my work; S. C. Paine, the former town clerk, 
and John B. Dyer, his accommodating successor, for access to 
town records, the venerable Jesse Collins, and his sister, Miss 
Polly, free, fair, and fourscore, and Mrs. Sally ( Rich ) Paine, 
for family recollections. To Captain Sears Rich, concerning 
the meeting-house of 1794, and to Barnabas Paine, a school- 
mate and life-long friend, for continued services worthy of his 
historic name, which an elect lady of Truro thought the hand- 
somest in the English language. Others have rendered me 
service whose names will appear in the book. To all these 
and others who have assisted by word or deed, I express 
my gratitude and thanks. 

SHEBNAH RICH. 
Boston, April ig. 1883. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

I INTRODUCTION 13 

Dry Bones. Files of Stone and Piles of Wood. The Procession. Relevancy. 
Our Ancestors The essential Aggregate Human Society. The true Ques- 
tion. A broken Arch. New anil Old. Town Histories. Deserving Merit. 
Governor Wintlirop. Historians. Our Purpose. Lost History. Individual- 
ity. De Toqueville. Modern Ideas. The common People. What they did. 
Average Citizenship. Misfortunes. Education. Alcibiades. Sir Walter 
Scott. The Schoolhouse. The College. Fitnesses. Practical Traits. Lord 
Bacon. Phsyical Geography. Criticism. The Verdict. 

CHAPTER II. 
The native American 23 

Elizabeth's Court. National Niche. Greek Mythology. Common Structure. 
The dumb Nations. Test of Civilization. Nature and "Religion. Pliny. Roger 
Williams. Liquid Language. Courage. Canonicus the Brave. The Chal- 
lenge. The Pequots. judge Potter. The I'aomets. Cape Tribes. Nine 
Kings. A lusty Parnet. Capt. Standish and Winterwemet. Capt. Richard 
Bourne. Playing Indians. The simple League. The young " Injuns." 
Indian Trinity. Indian Nobility. Indian Poetry. Indian Pictures. Indian 
Graves. 

CHAPTER III. 
English Adventures and the Rise of the Pilgrims 34 

Cape Cod and Cornwall. The Golden Age. English Sailors. Hudson. A 
Mermaid. Sir Francis Drake. Bart Gosnold. Cape Cod named. Benjamin 
Drew's Poem. The Ancient Mariner's Log. Repeated Failures. American 
Fisheries. The Condition of Europe. Who were the Pilgrims? How they 
came to think so. Buxton. Victor Hugo. The human Mii:d. The Roman 
Yoke. Green. Social Life hi England. The Bible. The Love of moral 
Beauty. The Puritan Mind. Independency. The Covenant. The Puritan 
Character. The Westminster Declaration. The Pilgrims or Separatists. 
Their Union and Covenant. Persecution. Removal. In Holland. Emigra- 
tion. The Mayflower. Sight of Land. Cape Cod. Mourt's Ri lation. Brad- 
ford's Description. Poop of the Mayflower. The first Landii g. De Costa. 
American Sahara. The Compact. A Historic Picture. Various Opinions. 
The Weight of Testimony. The Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Pilgrims in Truro 53 

The first Boat. Where they landed. Description. Travellers' Veracit v. Crit- 
icism. American Forests. New England Plantation. Mr. Higginson of 
Salem. Old England. The Shallop. Captain Miles Standish. A T bleau. 
The Rendezvous. East Harbor. First Water in America. 1620-1878. The 
Signal. On to the ''Supposed River." The Pond. The cleared Land, or 
Indian Cornfields? Great Hollow. The first Indian Grave Strawberries. 
Cornhill The Coast Survey The first Indian Corn. Corn V8. Grapes. An- 
glo-Saxon Argument. Corn Planting. Captain Dermer The River. Tom's 
Hill. Savages. Providence A Deer-trap. Stephen Hopkins. Second Dis- 
covery. Master Jones. Iron Men. Early Graves. Up the River. Lodging 
under the Pines. The main Chance, and Seed Corn. Pilgrim Pluck. Indian 
Trails. Arbitrary Lines. Indian Grave. Speculations. Wigwams. Confer- 



6 CONTENTS. 

ence. Pro and Con. Truro Water. Robert Coffin. A narrow Escape Per- 
egrine White. Bereavements. Providential Names. Young Billington. 
Third Discovery. Freezing Cold. Grampus Bay. The first Encounter. Per- 
ilous Voyage. Good News. Webster on Plymouth Rock. 

CHAPTER V. 
1670 — Settlement at Pamet or Paomet — 1709 7:: 

Indian Spelling. The Old-comers. Settlers of Eastham. The Old South 
Meeting-House. Nauset. Pamet Lands Proprietors. Purchases. Drift 
Fish. Indian Lands. Tom Paine. Earlier Settlers. Cape Cod. Indian 
Fidelity. Governor Hinckley Marshpee Deacon. Removal. Provision for 
a Minister. Nathaniel Ells. Commonage, star Island. Protection,to Trees. 
New England Ministry. High Commissioner's Court. Hannah North. New 
Lights The Declaration. Enoch Pratt. Records of 1703. Drift Highway. 
Tashmuit. Hog's Back. Ministerial Lands. Mr. Theophilus Cotton. Indian 
Shell Beds. Rev. Samuel Treat. Calvinism. Awakenings. The Great Snow. 
The first Clerk A Colonial Charter. 

CHAPTER VI. 
Peace, Progress and Whaling ioc 

Last Officers of Pamet. Purchases of Indians. Waste of Forests. Cattle 
Owners. The first Windmill. Crows and Blackbirds. Ancient Bounds Fat 
Office. Fencing the Wolves. Cape Cod Canal. George Washington. The 
first buez Canal. The Path to India. The Dream of Europe. Province Lands. 
Precinct of Cape Cod. Boundaries. Sojourners. 1717 — Missionary Enter- 
prise — 1877. Incorporation of Provincetown . Precarious Existence. Reha- 
bilitation. Lands a Pegging. Whak and Whaling. The " Lydia and Sophia." 
Oily Flavor. Dr. Freeman in 1794. Burke's Argunientuiu Piscatorium. Cape 
Cod Schoolmasters. Richard Paine. Rev. Levi Whitman. Fighting Whale. 
The Bible Captain. Globiceph Alus Melas. Daniel Rich's Morning Spurt. 
Captain Henry Atkins. The ship " Whale." 

CHAPTER VII. 
Truro old and new » - 1 1 - 



Dangerrield and Poole. Act <>f Incorporation. Dudley and Mather. Who 
named T uro? Roger Conant. Etymology of the Name. Truro in Cornwall. 
History and Associations. Queen Victoria's Description. Granger Hill. 
St. Mary's Cathedral Bishop and Archbishop Benson. How a Cathedral is 
finished. Viscount Vivian. Owen Fitzpen. Truro Market Tablet. Trago- 
thian. Falmouth and Province! own. Pendennis Castle. Cornish Language 
Barbarisms. Cornish Travellers. Handsome Women. Cornish Race. Mild 
Superstition. Personalities. King .Arthur. land's End. Proininthian 
Fountain Cornish Polities. Election of a Member. Liberals and Conserva- 
tives. Cornish Curiosities. John Wesley's first and last Sermon Holy 
Weils Cornish Tourists. Dean of Canterbury. English Inn. Sam Gilbert. 
Cornish Fare. Cornish Toast. Penzance Pilchards and Pirates. Truro Par- 
ish. Old Polick Church. General Washington's Pew and Coach. Truro 
Station. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The first Church in Truro 143 

The Hill of Storms. The Spirit of Elia. Ruling Elders. The Great Land- 
mark. Fundamentals and Magna Charta. Error of Historians. The first 
Meeting-house. Galleries. Fasts established. First Pew-holders. Puritan 
Architecture. The Rook of Common Prayer. Rev. Phillips Brooks. 

CHAPTER IX. 
1709 — Rev. John Avery — 1754 151 

The first settled Minister of the Church of Christ in Truro. Thoreau. The 
old Ministry. Good History. Great Battles. Town Vote Acceptance. 
Agreement. Ordination. First Members. First Baptisms. Family History. 



CONTENTS. 7 

Harvard College Line. Truro Family. Water Springs. Tashnmit — Shaw- 
mat. Salary. Dr. Freeman's Eulogy. The Parsonage and Smithy. Canter 
bury Tales. Records Moving cautiously. Advance in Salary. Old Tenor. 
An even-spun Life. Drawing to a Close. Assistant. Turner, Upham and 
A.ngier. Economy. Preparations for Ordination. Death of Mr. Avery. 
Gravestones. Last Will and Testament. 

CHAPTER X. 

HOW THEY WORSHIPED, OR LAW AND GOSPEL 167 

Saturday Night. The New England Sabbath. The Deacon and the Host. 
Going to Meeting. The Hour Glass. Long Sermons. Legislation. Pilgrim 
Polity. Confederation. Tyrants and Taxation. Whipping Post. Sunday 
Laws. Muskets to Meeting. McFingal. Matchlocks. Fines. Quakers and 
Indians. Reaction. Ye Constable. Funeral Fashions. Drums. Tithing 
Man. Naughty Boys and long Prayers. Uprising and Downsitting. Days 
of Humiliation. Mr. John Lotlirop. Thanksgiving. Wonder-working Prov- 
idence. Edward Johnson The first Grave. Silent Habitations. God's Acre. 
Wm. H. Lapham. Decoration Week. A worshipful Spot. Sentiment and 
Superstition. The benighted Traveller. Entombed. The bewitched Captain. 
southey and Tregeagie. Spiritual Visitants. Cotton Mather. Winter Evening 
Tales. The Chimney Corner. A scared Boy. Love of the Marvellous. Old 
Chapman. 

CHAPTER XL 
Geologically and otherwise considered 188 

Clams and Clamming. Scollops and Pilgrims. Ocean Flora. Fertility of the 
Ocean. Planet Sinking. Salt-water Lawns. English Hay. Ah Sin. Pond 
Acreage. French Alchemy. Rev. Mr. Ward and Professor Shaler. Geologi- 
cal Speculation. Physical structure. Bart. Gosnold. Lost Territory. Points 
Care and Gilbert. Gosnold's ; eography. Georges Bank. Nantucket Shoals. 
Matthias Rich. Captain Eldredge*s Chart. Loss of the Byron. The Sparrow 
Hawk. Deacon Doane Marvellous Changes. Amos Otis. Professor Agas- 
siz. Map. New England Storms. Amputation. Driving Stakes. Science. 
Song of the Carbons. High Head. Hitchcock. Pretty Landscape. Coombs. 
Merrivale. Euglish Weather, (lay Pounds. Highland Light. DiluvialEle- 
vations. Mountain Waves. Lagoons. The Question settled. Corn Hills. 
Tashmuit. A deserted Village. English Cannon Balls. East Harbor. Old 
Lewis Cameron. A lonely Grave. Good Farms. Bank Dividends. Land 
Empirics. Barnstable Coat of Arms. What Ireland deserves. Kendall. A 
green old Age. Solid Knowledge. 

CHAPTER XII. 
1 7 15 — General History of the Town — 1750 216 

Qestruction of the Forest. Lawless Sojourners. Increase of Fishing Ships. 
Importance of Cape Cod Harbor. Drifting Sands. Government Jobs. Stout's 
Creek. Hog Island. Parian Porth. St. Patrick and St, Andrew. St. Prian 
and his Tomb. Schools. Schoolmaster Spear. Doncastor. Office a-begging. 
Economy. High Sense of Honor. Samuel White. The humane Man. Bel- 
lamy the Pirate. The Whidah. Cob Money. Haley's Island House. Cap- 
tain Kidd. Schoolhonses. ValueofLand. Province Treasury. Stormsofl723 
and 1035. Richard Mather. Hector the last Slave. Bill of Sale. Manumitted. 
The General Court. The Minority hold the Fort. The Majority appeal. 
Proprietors of 1730. Petition for a new County. Dr. Dyer. Records of 1733 
Ice Punch in July. Memorial. Longnook. Land Bank Scheme. Sam 
Adams. Judge Solomon Lombard. Legislation. Deacon Joshua Freeman. 
Severe Drought. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

1755 — Rev. Caleb Upham — 1786 — Second settled Min- 
ister of the Church of Christ in Truro ,....235 

Call of Mr. Charles Turner. Acceptance. Release. Quit-claim. A Whale 
breaks up the Meeting. Call of Mr. Upham. His model Answer. His Ordi- 
nation. Notice by Rev. dames Freeman. Mr. Upham a Poet. His Work. 
Scotch Practice repealed. The Psalms vs. Tate and Brady. Close Vote. 



8 CONTENTS. 

Church Singing. Sternhohl and Hopkins. Majesty of God. Rous' Version. 
Marquis of Lome. Paraphrasing. Bay Psalm Book. Lampooning. Church 
enlarged. Sale of Pews. Deacon Anthony Snow. Christian Forbearance. 
A Briton. Beacon Ephraim Harding. Mr. Upham's Death. A Patriot. The 
Graveyard. The Names. Schoolmaster Hincks. His Marriage. Gen. E. W. 
Hincks. Rev. Samuel Osborn. Church Consistory. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
i 750 — General Outlines — 1800 246 

Fish Laws. The French "War. Grammar School. Three R's. Cole's Rate. 
The Fishing and General Court. God's Providence vs. Man's Folly. Revenue. 
Free'Seining restricted. First Free School. Cape Cod Fictions. New Eng- 
land and Virginia. Town Meeting 1761. John Bacon's Will. First Protest 
against Slavery. Pomp's Lot. Capt. Matthias Rich. Forbidding the Banns. 
The dark Day. Lighthouses. Sailing and Sailors. Forbisher's great Fleet. 
Northwest Passage. Death Rate. Training Field. Long Noonings. Old 
Imtta Dyer. Bassing. Yarns. Direct Tax of 1798 Rev. James Freeman, 
D. D Description of Truro. Washing away. Mild Mythology. Margate 
and Ramsgate. Dr. Jason Ayers. Harbor at the Pond. 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Fisheries and the Wars 263 

Exposed Condition. A Precarious Town. Dark Prospects. Beginning of the 
Fishing. Rivals for the Prize. Henry the IV. Sir Walter Raleigh. Stock 
Companies and the Nobility. Dutch Fishermen. Newfoundland. Catholic 
Europe. English Statutes. The Problem of Kings. Royal Kitchen and 
Royal Economy. Pine-Tree Sliillings. Charles and Codfish. The People. 
1485 — English Commerce— 1880. Education. Supply and Demand. From 
Newfoundland to New England. St. Saviour. Acadia Fighting Men. 
Louis XPY. Louisburg. A modern Crusade. Victory. One Vote. Fisher- 
men Knighted. Peace. Codfish and Molasses. Free Rum. Merchant Voy- 
ages. The Cape threatened. The Armada. Lawful Money. Crown Point. 
Petition for Protection. W'atch and Ward. The Scheme. Privateering. 
Second Seige of Louisburg. Change of Rule. Dissatisfaction. An impending 
Crisis. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
War of the Revolution 275 

Emigration. Compensation. Peace. The Exhibit. Criticism and Agitation. 
Stamp Act. Memorial. Port Bill. The English Merchants. Buckle on George 
HI. East India Co. 's baneful Tea. Report of theCommittee. Patriotic Letter 
to Boston. A good Test. Military School. April. 1775. Preparations. Prov- 
incetown a Rendezvous. Hummock lirigade Independence. Voted to fall 
in. No Wavering. Board of War Convention at Concord. Active Efforts. 
Hard Times and hard Dollars The Somerset wrecked. General Otis. 
The fished Pipe. English Officers Dr. William Thayer. Pressing Requisi- 
tions. The Continental Soldier Condition of 1782. Positive Suffering. Un- 
flinching Devotion. Privateering. Gobbling Prizes. Marblehead and 
Captain John Manly. Salem. Declaration. Battle of Yorktown. Dr. Sam 
Adams. Rev. Levi Whitman. A high Compliment. Number of Men. Brigs 
Resolution and Intrepid. David Siiow and Son. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
v 786 — Rev. Jude Damon — 1828 . , 289 

The third settled Minister of the Church of Christ in Truro. Ordination. 
Sketch of Mr. Damon. Church Wheels. Dr. Hersey's Will. Deacon's Con- 
gress. Utopian. Election of Deacons. First and last Baptisms. A Peace- 
maker. A side Wind. Polite Boys. The "old Shay." Four Kings. Mr. 
Damon and Mr. Job. Orthodoxy. Rev. Joseph Cook. A good Man. A good 
Minister. The great Sickness of 1S1G. The Triumvirate. The old North. 
Moral Excellence. Christian Forbearance. Old Blood. Huldah Rich. The 
Squire and the Priest. Peggy Rider. Accepting the Terms: Bible Society. 
John. Stately Gravestones. Mr. Damon's Register. His best Monument. 
The Truro Astronomer. The Conclusion. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVI II. 
1792 — The People called Methodists — 1882 304 

The first Minister. Local Preachers. Circuit Riders. The first Meeting-house. 
The Cradle of Methodism. General Minutes. Historians. Grand Dedication. 
1795. Jesse Lee. Persecution. Inquisitionists. Bigotry and Humanity. 
Joseph Snelling. A Constellation of Worthies. They marry. Spiritual De- 
velopments. Enthusiasm. Criticism. Converted to the Core. Qualifications. 
Men of one Book. Preaching without Liberty. Barnard of Batcombe. The 
College at Seven Ponds. Cob and Corn. The Queen of Sheba. An elect 
Lady. New House of 1831. List of Appointments. Rev. Benjamin Keitb \ 

Rev. Thomas Dodge. ' Rev. Joel Steele. The M. E. Church in Truro. First 
Trustees. New Meeting-house. Remodeled 17-15. List of Appointments. 
Great Revival. Millennial Day. Ephraim Doane Rich. His Psalter and 
Arithmetic. The Doncastor Doctor. Stephen Collins. Give Lenox a pull. 
The old Bethel. Father Taylor. The Wellrleet Singer. Clam Bait. Leafy 
Temples. The first Camp Meetings. Preaching up to the Times. John Smith. 
Rev. Daniel Atkins. Rev. Doane R. Atkins. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

HOW THEY LIVED 332 

Modern Improvements. Middlemarch. Scientific Activity. Victor Hugo. 
An honest Purpose. Pilgrim Habits. Kathrina. Charles I. Mr. Winslow 
and the Royal Charter. Blackst'one. English Homes. Truro, Eng. Fashion- 
able Gentlemen. Fashionable Ladies. Kitty Trevylyn. Old Grimes. Home- 
spun. Labrador Tea. Lora Standish. Needlework Live Geese. High 
Beds. Old Houses. The Sundial The Kitchen. Geraldine. Gervase Mark- 
ham. Tusser, the English Botanist. Fireplace Equipments. Jack-of-all-trades. 
Pewter Ware. Bean Porridge. The Punch-Bowl. Temperance Reform. 
Trenchers. Mortar and Pestle Spider Cakes philosophically considered. 
Faculty. Well-fed. Sunday Dining. Resources. Herbert Spencer. Pump- 
kin Pie. Old Orchards. High-top Sweetings. Atlantic Apples. Old Pear- 
tree Tradition. The Old Colony Club. Daniel Webster. Home. The highest 
Honor. Contentment. Brother Joe. 

CHAPTER XX. 
War of the Embargo 353 

Prosperity. Turn of the Tide. Rotting Vessels. Petitions. An obstinate 
President. New Intercourse Act. Home Manufactures. Right of Search. 
Declaration of War. Letters of Marque. Privateering. Captain Reuben 
Rich. Yankee Navy. Songs of Victory. The " Majestic." The Target. Mill 
Hill. Pranks. British Officers Society. Dazzling Guineas. Provincetown 
Fortunes. Trading to New York. Intheir own Coin. The Boy Pilot. The 
Newcastle. Peace. How it reached Provincetown. Old Dartmoor Prison. 
Truro Prisoners. Damp Weather. The Scape-Gallows. A polite Yankee. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Modern Congregational Church 362 

Dividing Line. Act of 1777. New Departure. The Bell Meeting-house. 
Honest Work. Rev. Stephen Bailey. Law Suit. John Harding. David 
Snow. Rev. Charles Boyter. Maximum of Prosperity. Government Bounty. 
Sailing for the Banks. Stewart and Bismarck. Love of the Marvellous. 
Spiritual Visitants. Public Sentiment. An Oracle. Lucky Fishermen. 
Smart Men. Captain Godfrey Rider. Uncle Wiff. "Jonas." Sermon on 
Lack. Rev. C. B. Elliott. A dual Life. Rev. E. W. Noble. Installation. 
1849— Quarter Centennial— 1874. Hon. Thomas N. Stone, M. D. Interesting- 
Services. Poem. Sunday Fishing. Jeremy Taylor. Noble Christian Men. 
Cooging. Sunday-school. James Collins. The old Arithmetic. Character. 
Rev. Osborn Myrick. Union Church. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Seafaring and Landfaring 3S4 

Seafaring. Daniel Webster's Letter. A cardinal Point. Dr. Dwight. Capt. 
Obadiah Rich. Capt. Ben]. Rich. The good Samaritan. Dr. Young. The 
Humane Society. Letters of Sympathy. The Hill-top Groves. Rev. Charles 
Rich. Capt. John Collins. A model Sailor. E. K. Collins. The Dramatic 



10 CONTENTS. 

Line. The Collins' Steam Line. From the Pinkey to the Ship. Capt. Richard 
linker. Richard Baker, Jr. Capt. Elisha Baker. The Atkins Family. Lom- 
bard. Isaac Snow Gross. Capt. Levi Stevens Isaac Rich. Matthias Rich. 
Capt. Edmund Burke. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Fishermen » ... .417 

Yachting. A new Life. A Race. Nobody Beat. Changes. Tom Hood. 
The Coast Guard's Song Long Ned. Judy Callagharu. Oodtishing. Hygiene 
and the Banks. Shut tip. .Saturday Night. The Song of Welcome. Uncle 
Sam. Ship " Mediator." Pleasant Memories. Henry Pearce. Sinking of 
the " James Beard." Mackerel. How they were caught High Line. Kings. 
Commodore. Daniel Clark. Tide Harbor. A Breakwater. River and Har- 
bor Improvements. Union Wharf. Beginning of Business. Elisha Newcomb. 
Beacb Speculations. Sea Vandals. Improvements. John N. Devereaux. 
Captain Hinckley. Marine Insurance Company. Surplus Revenue. Benevo- 
lent Society. Picturesque Speech. A dull Sailor. Mr. Ambrose Snow. Mr. 
William White. Two Pine-trees. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Tide Turned 438 

Prosperous Days. Cause of Decline. The Piling Failure. Truro Academy. 
Joshua H. Davis. Horace Mann. New Departure. His Preparation. His 
Work. Popular Education. Tom Brown at Rugby. Result. A Traveller. 
Cape Cod branch. Wharf Building. Ship Building. Prospects. Universa- 
lis! Church. New Lighthouse. Modern Tyre. Steamer '• Cambria." County 
Commissioners. Staging over Sahara. Stage Acquaintances. Staging English- 
man. An old Stager. Venice of New England. Government Recommenda- 
tions. Mails. Attended their own Funerals. Cape Cod Telegraph Company. 
Final Blow. The Packet. Captain Zoheth Rich The " Post-boy." Going 
to Boston. Canterbury Tales. Passengers." Comparing Notes. Thoreau. 
Captain Richard Stevens. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Landmarks and Seamarks 449 

Old Acquaintances. Hie Jacet. Emigration. Roof Tree. Citizenship. 
Changes. Population. Summer Resorts. 1830 Massachusetts Gazateer. 
Banner Town. Prospect. Possibilities. Prophetic Lens. Old 1'ictures. Salt 
Mills Salt Works. Salt Fish. Salt Water. Salt. Well-preserved. Pictur- 
esque Town. Flemish Picture. Profane Visitor. One Horse with one Eye. 
Stone vs. Fish. No Road Doctor Davy and Penzance Carts and Carpets. 
Paths and Pilots. A Road that needed no sprinkling. United States Surplus 
under Feet. Lost Feet. Railroad. Mackerel Fleet Salt Industry. Con- 
sumption and Supply. Mills and Castles. SanchoPanza. Dramatis Persons. 
The Grist Mill. The Old Miller, (iohlen Meal. Mills of the Gods. Chatham. 
A Whig Platform. Corn Laws. In Memoriam. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
War of the Rebellion 473 

Fort Sumter. Liberty Poles. War Meetings. Tall Flag Spars. Hoisting the 
Flag. Devotion to the Cause. Enrollment. Mutual Support Club. The 
Arms. Volunteers Mass. 4.'3d. Nine Months' Men. Volunteers of 1862. Mass. 
33d Fighting Family. A Prison and a Monument. Prison Rules. Prison 
Fare. Active Service. Haps and Mishaps. Hard Marching Good Fighting. 
The Work done. Marching Home. Turning over the Flags. Served and 
saved the Country. The Navy. Accomplished Otlicer. Swallowed up. Father 
and Sons. Final Discharge. Gallant Commander. The Boy Sailor. Prize 
.Master. Blockade Runner. Never heard from. The End. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Shipwreck 483 

Dedicatory. Cod knows. Unrest. The missing Ship. Toil. Missing Link. 
Heroines." Deacon Moses Paine. A Diary. The first mentioned. Four Mas- 
ters. Ship " America." Salem " Gazette." Captain John Simpson. John S. 
Emery. Three Salem Ships. The Brutus. The Man in a Sand Mask. Elegy. 



CONTENTS. 11 

An intuitive Navigator. A gentle Sailor. 1825, a fatal Year. Visitor to a 
Townsman's Grave after forty-five Years. Clutching for Life. The black Flag'. 
Duty and the Grave. A noble Woman. The young Merchant A sad Sunday. 
The Poet. Towed under, October Gale of 1841. The lost Fleet. Account of 
Joshua Knowk-s. Account of Matthias Rich. Other Notes. A Sea Feat. 
Love's Phantom. Mysterious Calamity. The Fishermen's i<rave A Family 
Record. The venerable Skipper lost near his own Doorstoue. The October 
Gale of 1851 Honor to his Craft. Heroes. The fearless Captain. A true 
Sailor. Buried at Sea. Not divided in Death. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

( '. ENEALOGY , 5 1 8 

The last Chapter. Passing Generations, True Honor. Promises. Ancestry. 
System. Atkins. Atwood. Long Measure. Avery. Bangs. First Comers. 
Baker "Honest. Nicholas." Chapman. Collins. Cobb. Post Admiral. 
Cole. Cook. The first Bark. Davis. Dyer. The Doctor's Knack. Freeman. 
Race Characteristics. Gross. Judge Hinckes. Hinckley. The Governor and 
Poet. The good. Deacon andJudge. Harding. Higgins. Hopkins. Knowles. 
Lombard. An ancient Race. Mayo. Mulford. Newcomb. Paine. Dooms- 
day Book. Pike. Purington. Rich. Rider. Ridley. Savage. Small. 
Smith. Snow. Stevens. Treat. Vickcry. Young. Coan. Lewis. 

List of Subscribers 568 

Index 57° 



8 CONTENTS. 

Church Singing. Sternhohl and Hopkins. Majesty of God. Rous' Version. 
Marquis of Lome. Paraphrasing. Bay Psalm Book. Lampooning. Church 
enlarged. Sale of Pews. Deacon Anthony Snow. Christian Forbearance. 
A Briton. Deacon Ephraim Harding. Mr. Upham's Death. A Patriot. The 
Graveyard. The Names. Schoolmaster Hincks. His Marriage. Gen. E. W. 
Hincks. Rev. Samuel Osborn. Church Consistory. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
1 750 — General Outlines — 1800 246 

Fish Laws. The French War. Grammar School. Three R's. Cole's Rate. 
The Fishing and General Court. God's Providence vs. Man's Folly. Revenue. 
Free'Seining restricted. First Free School. Cape Cod Fictions. New Eng- 
land and Virginia. Town Meeting 1761. John Bacon's Will. First Protest 
against Slavery. Pomp's Lot. Capt. Matthias Rich. Forbidding the Banns. 
The dark Day. Lighthouses. Sailing and Sailors. Forbisher's great Fleet. 
Northwest Passage. Death Rate. Training Field. Long Noonings. Old 
liutta Dyer. Bassing. Yarns. Direct Tax of 1798 Rev. James Freeman, 
D. D Description of Truro. Washing away. Mild Mythology. Margate 
and Ramsgate. Dr. Jason Ayers. Harbor at the Pond. 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Fisheries and the Wars 263 

Exposed Condition. A Precarious Town. Dark Prospects. Beginning of the 
Fishing. Rivals for the Prize. Henry the IV. Sir Walter Raleigh. Stock 
Companies and the Nobility. Dutch Fishermen. Newfoundland. Catholic 
Europe. English Statutes. The Problem of Kings. Royal Kitchen and 
Royal Economy. Pine-Tree Shillings. Charles and Codfish. The People. 
1485 — English Commerce— 1880. Education. Supply and Demand. From 
Newfoundland to New England. St. Saviour. Acadia. Fighting Men. 
Louis XIV. Louisburg. A modern Crusade. Victory. One Vote. Fisher- 
men Knighted. Peace. Codfish and Molasses. Free Rum. Merchant Voy- 
ages. The Cape threatened. The Armada. Lawful Money. Crown Point. 
Petition for Protection. Watch and Ward. The Scheme. Privateering. 
Second Seige of Louisburg. Change of Rule. Dissatisfaction. An impending 
Crisis. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
War of the Revolution 275 

Emigration. Compensation. Peace. The Exhibit. Criticism and Agitation. 
Stamp Act. Memorial. Port Bill. The English Merchants. Buckle on George 
HI. East India Co.'s baneful Tea. Report of the Committee. Patriotic Letter 
to Boston. A good Test. Military School. April. 1775. Preparations. Prov- 
incetown a Rendezvous. Hummock Rrigade. Independence. Voted to fall 
in No Wavering. Board of War Convention at Concord. Active Efforts. 
Hard Times and hard Dollars The Somerset wrecked. General Otis. 
The fished Pipe. English Officers Dr. William Thayer. Pressing Requisi- 
tions. The Continental Soldier Condition of 1782. Positive Suffering. Un- 
flinching Devotion. Privateering. Gobbling Prizes. Marblehead and 
Captain John Manly. Salem. Declaration. Battle of Yorktown. Dr. Sam 
Adams. Rev. Levi Whitman. A high Compliment. Number of Men. Brigs 
Resolution and Intrepid. David Snow and Son. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
1 786 — Rev. Jude Damon — 1828 . , 2S9 

The third settled Minister of the Church of Christ in Truro. Ordination. 
Sketch of Mr. Damon. Church Wheels. Dr. Hersey's Will. Deacon's Con- 
gress. Utopian. Election of Deacons. First and last Baptisms. A Peace- 
maker. A side Wind. Polite Boys. The "old Shay." Four Kings. Mr. 
Damon and Mr. Job. Orthodoxy. Rev. Joseph Cook. A good Man. A good 
Minister. The great Sickness of 1S1G. The Triumvirate. The old North. 
Moral Excellence. Christian Forbearance. Old Blood. Huldah Rich. The 
Squire and the Priest. Peggy Rider. Accepting the Terms: Bible Society. 
John. Stately Gravestones. Mr. Damon's Register. His best Monument. 
The Truro Astronomer. The Conclusion. 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
1 792 — The People called Methodists — 1882 304 

The first Minister. Local Preachers. Circuit Riders. The first Meeting-house. 
The Cradle of Methodism. General Minutes. Historians. Grand Dedication. 
1795. Jesse Lee. Persecution. Inquisitionists. Bigotry and Humanity. 
Joseph Snelling. A Constellation of Worthies. They marry. Spiritual De- 
velopments. Enthusiasm. Criticism. Converted to the Core. Qualifications. 
Men of one Book. Preaching without Liberty. Barnard of Batcombe. The 
College at Seven Ponds. Cob and Corn. The Queen of Sheba. An elect 
Lady. New House of 1831. List of Appointments. Rev. Benjamin Keith 
Rev. Thomas Dodge. ' Rev. Joel Steele. The M. E. Church in Truro. First 
Trustees. New Meeting-house. Remodeled 1745. List of Appointments. 
Great Revival. Millennial Day. Ephraim Doane Rich. His Psalter and 
Arithmetic. The Doncastor Doctor. Stephen Collins. Give Lenox a pull 
The old Bethel. Father Taylor. The Wellfieet Singer. Clam Bait. Leafy 
Temples. The first Camp Meetings. Preaching up to the Times. John Smith. 
Rev. Daniel Atkins. Rev. Doane R. Atkins. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

HOW THEY LIVED ....332 

Modern Improvements. Middlemarch. Scientific Activity. Victor Hugo. 
An honest Purpose. Pilgrim Habits. Kathrina. Charles I. Mr. Winslow 
and the Royal Charter. Blackstone. English Homes. Truro, Eng. Fashion- 
able Gentlemen. Fashionable Ladies. Kitty Trevylyn. Old Grimes. Home- 
spun. Labrador Tea. Lora Standish. Needlework Live Geese. High 
Beds. Old Houses. The Sundial The Kitchen. Geraldine. Gervase Mark- 
ham. Tusser, the English Botanist. Fireplace Equipments. Jack-of-all-trades. 
Pewter Ware. Bean Porridge. The Punch-Bowl. Temperance Reform. 
Trenchers. Mortar and Pestle Spider Cakes philosophically considered. 
Faculty. Well-fed. Sunday Dining. Resources. Herbert Spencer. Pump- 
kin Pie. Old Orchards. High-top Sweetings. Atlantic Apples. Old Pear- 
tree Tradition. The Old Colony Club. Daniel Webster. Home. The highest 
Honor. Contentment. Brother Joe. 

CHAPTER XX. 
War of the Embargo 353 

Prosperity. Turn of the Tide. Rotting Vessels. Petitions. An obstinate 
President. New Intercourse Act. Home Manufactures. Right of Search. 
Declaration of War. Letters of Marque. Privateering. Captain Reuben 
Rich. Yankee Navy. Songs of Victory. The •' Majestic." The Target. Mill 
Hill. Pranks. British Officers Society. Dazzling Guineas. Provincetown 
Fortunes. Trading to New York. Intheir own Coin. The Boy Pilot. The 
Newcastle. Peace. How it reached Provincetown. Old Dartmoor Prison. 
Truro Prisoners. Damp Weather. The Scape-Gallows. A polite Yankee. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Modern Congregational Church 362 

Dividing Line. Act of 1777. New Departure. The Bell Meeting-house. 
Honest Work. Rev. Stephen Bailey. Law Suit. John Harding. David 
Snow. Rev. Charles Boyter. Maximum of Prosperity. Government Bounty. 
Sailing for the Banks. Stewart and Bismarck. Love of the Marvellous. 
Spiritual Visitants. Public Sentiment. An Oracle. Lucky Fishermen. 
Smart Men. Captain Godfrey Rider. Uncle Wiff. "Jonas." Sermon on 
Luck. Rev. C. B. Elliott. A dual Life. Rev. E. W. Noble. Installation. 
1849— Quarter Centennial— 1874. Hon. Thomas N. Stone, M. D. Interesting 
Services. Poem. Sunday Fishing. Jeremy Taylor. Noble Christian Men. 
Cooging. Sunday-school. James Collins. The "old Arithmetic. Character. 
Rev. Osborn Myrick. Union Church. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Seafaring and Landfaring 3S4 

Seafaring. Daniel Webster's Letter. A cardinal Point. Dr. Dwight. Capt. 
Obadiah Ridi. Capt. Benj. Rich. The good Samaritan. Dr. Young. The 
Humane Society. Letters of Sympathy. The Hill-top Groves. Rev. Charles 
Rich. Capt. John Collins. A model Sailor. E. K. Collins. The Dramatic 



10 CONTENTS. 

Line. The Collins' Steam Line. From the Pinkey to the Ship. Capt. Richard 
Baker. Richard Baker, Jr. Capt. Elisha Baker. The Atkins Family. Lom- 
bard. Isaac Snow Gross. Capt. Levi Stevens. Isaac Rich. Matthias Rich. 
Capt. Edmund Burke. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Fishermen .417 

Yachting. A new Life. A Race. Nobody Beat. Changes. Tom Hood. 
The Coast Guard's Song Long Ned. .1 udy Callagham. Codfishing. Hygiene 
and the Banks. Shut Up. Saturday Night. The Song of Welcome. Uncle 
Sam. Ship " Mediator." Pleasant Memories. Henry Pearce. Sinking of 
the " James Beard." Mackerel. How they were caught High Line. Kings. 
Commodore. Daniel Clark. Tide Harbor. A Breakwater. ' River and Har- 
bor Improvements. Union Wharf. Beginning of Business. Elisha Newcomb. 
Beach Speculations. Sea Vandals, improvements. John N. Devereaux. 
Captain Hinckley. Marine Insurance Company. Surplus Revenue. Benevo- 
lent Society. Picturesque Speech. A dull Sailor. Mr. Ambrose Snow. Mr. 
William White. Two Pine-trees. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Tide Turned 43^ 

Prosperous Days. Cause of Decline- The Piling Failure. Truro Academy. 
Joshua H. Davis. Horace Mann. New Departure. His Preparation. His 
Work. Popular Education. Tom Brown at Rugby. Kesult. A Traveller. 
Cape Cod branch. Wharf Building. Shipbuilding. Prospects. Universa- 
list Church. New Lighthouse. Modern Tyre. Steamer " Cambria." County 
Commissioners. Staging over Sahara. Stage Acquaintances. Staging English- 
man. An old Stager. Venice of New England. Government Recommenda- 
tions. Mails. Attended their own Funerals. Cape Cod Telegraph Company. 
Final Blow. The Packet. Captain Zoheth Rich The " Post-boy." Going 
to Boston. Canterbury Tales. Passengers." Comparing Notes. Thoreau. 
Captain Richard Stevens. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Landmarks and Seamarks 449 

Old Acquaintances. Hie Jacet. Emigration. Roof Tree. Citizenship. 
Changes. Population. Summer Resorts. 1830 Massachusetts Gazateer. 
Banner Town. Prospect. Possibilities. Prophetic Lens. Old Pictures. Salt 
Mills Salt Works. Salt Fish. Salt Water. Salt. Well-preserved. Pictur- 
esque Town. Flemish Picture. Profane Visitor. One Horse with one Eye. 
Stone vs. Fish. No Road. Doctor Davy and Penzance Carts and Carpets. 
Paths and Pilots. A Road that needed no sprinkling. Cuited States Surplus 
under Feet. Lost Feet. Railroad. Mackerel Fleet Salt Industry. Con- 
sumption and Supply. Mills and Castles. Sancho Panza. Dramatis Persons. 
The Grist Mill. The Old Miller. Golden Meal. Mills of the Gods. Chatham. 
A Whig Platform. Corn Laws. In Memoriam. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
War of the Rebellion 473 

Fort Sumter. Liberty Poles. War Meetings. Tall Flag Spars. Hoisting the 
Flag. Devotion to the Cause. Enrollment. Mutual Support Club. The 
Arms. Volunteers Mass. 43d. Nine Months' Men. Volunteers of 1862. Mass. 
33d. Fighting Family. A Prison and a Monument. Prison Kules. Prison 
Fa^-e. Active Service*. Haps and Mishaps. Hard Marching Good Fighting. 
The Work done. Marching Home. Turning over the Flags. Served and 
saved the Country. The Navy. Accomplished Officer. Swallowed up. Father 
and Sons. Final Discharge. Gallant Commander. The Boy Sailor. Prize 
Master. Blockade Runner. Never heard from. The End. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Shipwreck 483 

Dedicatory. God knows. Unrest. The missing Ship. Toil. Missing Link. 
Heroines." Deacon Moses Paine. A Diary. The first mentioned. Four Mas- 
ters. Ship " America." Salem " Gazette." Captain John Simpson. John S. 
Emerv. Three Salem Ships. The Brutus. The Man in a Sand Mask. Elegy. 



CONTENTS. U 

An intuitive Navigator. A gentle Sailor. 1825, a fatal Year. Visitor to a 
Townsman's Grave after forty-rive Years. Clutching for Life. The black Flag. 
Duty and the Grave. A noble Woman. The young Merchant. A sad Sunday. 
The Poet. Towed under, October Gale of 1841. The lost Fleet. Account of 
Joshua Knowks. Account of Matthiaa Rich. Other Notes. A Sea Feat. 
Love's Phantom. Mysterious Calamity. The Fishermen's <* rave A Family 
Record. The venerable Skipper lost near his own Door.stone. The October 
Gale of 1851 Honor to his Craft. Heroes. The fearless Captain. A true 
Sailor. Buried at Sea. Not divided in Death. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Cenealogy , . . .518 

The last Chapter. Passing Generations. True Honor. Promises. Ancestry. 
System. Atkins. Atwood. Long Measure. Avery. Bang's. First Comers. 
Baker "Honest Nicholas." Chapman. Collins. Cobb. Post Admiral. 
Cole. Cook. The first Hark. Davis. Dyer. The Doctor's Knack. Freeman. 
Race Characteristics. Gross. Judge Hinckes. Hinckley. The Governor and 
Poet. The good Deacon and Judge. Harding. Higgins. Hopkins. Knowles. 
Lombard. An ancient Race. Mayo. Mulford. Neweomb. Paine. Dooms- 
day Book, l'ike. Pmington. Rich. Rider. Ridley. Savage. Small. 
Smith. Snow. Stevens:. Treat. Vickery. Young. Coan. Lewis. 

List of Subscribers ; 568 

Index 57° 



ENGRAVINGS. 



Frontispiece 

Returning the Snake Skin - • -7 
The Last Meeting at Plymouth - 45 
The Mayflower entering Cape Cod 

Harbor 47 

Race Point, 1S7S - - - - 48 
The first Washing-day - - 56 

Miles Standish in his Boots of 

Cordovan Leather - - - 59 
Monument to Miles Standish, etc. 63 
The old Oaken Bucket - - - 74 
The Drift Whale - - - - no 
The 1405 School of Blackfish - 113 
Truro in England - - - -121 
A Baronial Castle - - - 129 
Dosmery Pool - - - - 131 
The Sands of Dark Tintegal by 

the Cornish Sea . - - 132 
Land's End — Longship's Light- 
house 133 

The typical jolly Landlord - - 138 
Ship ashore 'fore Day - - - 140 
The Meeting-house on the Hill of 

Storms - - - - 143 

John Avery, Portrait - - - 155 
Rev. John Avery's Seal - - 166 

The first Thanksgiving - - 177 
Spinning and Knitting in the Sun 1S6 
Points Care and Gilbert, 1602 - 199 
Clay Pounds, HighlandLighthouse 203 
Highland Lighthouse - - - 205 
Example of Diluvial Depressions 

and Elevations - - - 206 
Dismantled Grist Mill at High- 
lands 208 

Supposed to be Belamy of the 

Whidah 223 

Ploughing 234 

Vacation Pastime - 245 

And so off Shore let the good 

Ship fly - - - - - 256 
Nantucket Lighthouse - - - 26^ 

Pond Village 304 

Second Methodist Church built 

in New England - - - 308 



PAGE. 

M. E. Church, So. Truro - - 317 
1826 — Meeting-house of the M. E. 

Church, Truro — 1882 - - 31S 

John Smith, Portrait - - - 323 

Rev. Daniel Atkins ... 329 

They touched the Spinning-wheel 

and Distaff .... 338 

Old-fashioned double House - - 34c 
The old Fireplace - - 342 

The Ilincks-Gross Pear-tree, 1882 349 
Every House was a little Factory 354 
1827, The new Bell Meeting-house 
1883 - - - - - - 363 

Rev. Edward W. Noble. D.D. - 373 
Cong. Parsonage, Residence, etc. 375 
Union Church, Pond Village - 380 
The Rev. Osborn Myrick - - 381 
Climbing towards the Great Bear 384 
Passing the Golden Gate to 'Frisco 385 
Comfortable Homes ... 387 
David Lombard ... - 393 
Isaac Snow Gross ... 399 
Capt. Levi Stevens ... 403 

Isaac Rich 407 

Matthias Rich - - - - 415 
She chides her throbbing Heart - 425 
Her broad welcome Beams dashed 

away, etc. 437 

In the Harbor - - - 448 

Map of Cape Cod and O.C.RR. - 451 
High Pole Hill, Provincetown, 1870 454 
Provincetown fifty Years ago - 456 
Washing out Fish on Province- 
town Shore .... 458 
Mackerel Fleet getting under Way 460 
Summer Residence of the Author 

at Longnook - 465 

Old Windmill — a Landmark- - 469 

Town Hall 470 

Launching the Life Boat - - 485 
Swimming ashore - - . - - 499 
Monument in Memory of the Oct. 

Gale in 1841 .... 504 
Hauling in the Life-saving Car - 514 
Wreck of the bark Francis - - 517 



TRURO— CAPE GOD. 



»J*<e 



CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Dry Bones. Piles of Stone and Piles of Wood. The Procession. Relevancy. Our An- 
cestors. The essential Aggregate. Human Society. The true Question. A 
broken Arch. New and Old. Town Histories. Deserving Merit. Governor VVin- 
throp. Historians. Our Purpose. Lost History. Individuality. De Toqueville. 
Modern Ideas. The common People. What they did. Average Citizenship. Mis- 
fortunes.. Education. Alcibiades. Sir Walter Scott. The Schoolhouse. The 
College. Fitnesses. Practical Traits. Lord Bacon. Physical Geography. Criti- 
cism. The Verdict. 

WHEN first I began to gather material for this book, it 
seemed stubborn work, and the little heaps were 
piled here and there with slow, wearisome steps. And when 
at last I sat hesitatingly down among the piles of stone, and 
piles of wood, to sort, and shape, and build, there seemed lit- 
tle beauty or comeliness, with no sign of life. Looking sadly 
over them, I said : Can these dry bones live ? Shall they 
ever stand stone to stone, and beam to beam, and joint to 
joint ? Shall there ever come to these lifeless clods propor- 
tion and harmony, and shall the capstone thereof ever be 
brought forth with rejoicing?- Night after night, and week 
after week, still the piles of stone and piles of wood remained 
dark and shapeless. 

By and by there came light and spirit. The mute, blind 
clods spoke with a thousand tongues, and looked out from 
kindred eyes. Henceforth they became my friends. I sat 
down no more silent and alone. As one by one these pages 
have been slowly gathered, one by one, and in little groups, 
these friends have also been gathered. I have found them 

'3 



i 4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

delightful companions. Always the same : they have no 
new or changed faces. Our acquaintance has ripened into 
tender relationship and unchanging friendship that has repaid 
many-fold all my toil. 

To these well-tried friends, true as steel in sunshine and 
shadow, whose confidence I have shared, and whose experience 
I have treasured, with whom I have walked familiarly to and 
fro and up and down the earth, I would introduce my readers. 
Coming from the four quarters, with strange garb and stranger 
speech, you will find them a motley group. But the painted 
war-chiefs of the wilderness, the scholarly Tyndale and the 
reformers, the bigoted Mary, the martyr saints, the grim sol- 
diers and lord-bishops of Elizabeth, the stern Puritan, the 
iron-faced, ancient mariner, the Pilgrim band, and the settlers 
at Eastham and Truro, will quietly sit side by side, and tell 
the moral of their lives. 

I anticipate your inquiry of the relevancy of all this connect- 
ing history, and of the persons and places named, to this Old 
Colony town on the Cape. It is broadly open to criticism, we 
must confess, but friends whom we esteem wiser than our- 
selves have advised it could not well be spared. To know 
all that can be known of our ancestors is surely not a vain 
thing. 

Hammerton says: "All intellectual and educated people 
must always take a great interest in tradition, and have a sen- 
timent of respect for it." In the light of both tradition and 
history, I have faithfully sought for a better understanding 
of our ancestors. 

That history gathers her most useful lessons and great 
moral forces from distinguished names and events is perhaps 
a conceit of our education. They belong to the world, as the 
great promontories and mountains around which the clouds 
gather and lightnings play ; but the essential aggregate of 
wisdom and goodness is unconscious history ; that, like the 
quiet flow of the rivers through the valleys, gives seed-time 
and harvest. 

Says a writer in a late review : " A minute history of a 
town or a county for showing the progress of human society 



INTR OB UCTION. 1 5 

would be quite as important as the history of an empire." 
The editor remarks: "We not only agree with our corre- 
spondent, but we go much farther. It is to the beginning of 
things we must look, or we can arrive at no satisfactory end." 

It was among old Governor Winthrop's sayings, that a 
family is a little commonwealth, and a commonwealth is a 
great family. We may not find public transactions of start- 
ling importance, or brilliant historical events to repeat ; but 
the history of every community, however narrow, or however 
described, is of interest ; and the men and women who 
shaped and launched the new creation, deserve notice. 

It is important, then, not only to know who our ancestors 
were, from whence they came, what they did among these 
hills and shores, but to know of their birth and home life ; 
under what social and political fostering they had their 
growth ; why they came to this land ; how they came ; and 
with what advantages. To know how they estimated the 
importance of civil and religious liberty, the necessity of 
education and morals, we must know how they were related 
to the age in which they lived. The question is by no 
means whether they were broad or narrow, tolerant or intol- 
erant, perfect or faulty ; but whether they rose above the 
narrow, intolerant, faulty age in which they lived, and left 
the world better for their noble virtues, heroic courage, and 
democratic experiment. 

Still the burden of his song 

Is love of right, disdain of wrong ; 

Its master-chords 
Are Manhood, Freedom, Brotherhood ; 
Its discords but an interlude 

Between the words. 

I claim no ability to exhaust these suggestions. At the 
most, I hope to encourage thought and inquiry. 

Joubet observes, " The ancients said our ancestors ; we say, 
our posterity." With our moral and intellectual progress we 
may build monuments to perpetuate the virtues of our ances- 
try, handing clown their memory to posterity ; thereby uniting 
the past and present, where stood the broken arch of the 



1 6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

ancients. This is Christian ; the other was heathen. With 
the faults of our ancestors we make no issue, but cherish 
the hope that the progress of letters and sciences has given 
more liberal construction to truth, under whatever name. 

Old and new mean nothing as arbitrary terms, and are 
subject to neither veneration or respect only as they represent 
principles or progress to make the world better. 

Undoubtedly there is a growing taste in the popular mind 
to know more of the history and traditions of our fathers. The 
rapid increase of genealogical, antiquarian, historical, and 
archaelogical societies, and the popular favor of town and 
family histories, is abundant proof of this fact. Men and 
women of ability and learning are devoting themselves to this 
work ; and large amounts of money from public and private 
sources are freely applied in its behalf. This growth is not 
ephemeral or capricious ; it is not a fashion, but the healthy, 
legitimate outgrowth of liberal education, and a catholic 
spirit creditable to our country and age. 

Says a late leading journal : " There is an accumulating 
passion for histories which promises to enrich the common 
life of the country." 

The town of Truro has been settled at least two hundred 
years, and as a part of Eastham, since 1646. She has nourished 
and brought up more than ten thousand men and women 
who have made homes in the lengths and breadths of the land. 
She has fulfilled all the functions and privileges of a corporate 
and municipal town. She has been enterprising, loyal, and 
patriotic, under misfortunes and calamities unparalleled prob- 
ably in the history of the State. 

In 1796 Rev. Dr. Freeman of King's Chapel, a native of 
Truro, and for many years Secretary of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, wrote a short sketch of the town, which 
was published by the Society to which we shall refer. In 
1 86 1, Rev. Frederick Freeman, of Sandwich, published in 
two volumes a history of Cape Cod, and of the thirteen 
towns. This able and valuable work is a standard history of 
the Cape. Truro received a liberal share of attention, highly 
creditable to the author and the town. 



INTR OD UCTION. 1 7 

This is all that has been written, and comparatively little 
of the two hundred years could be touched only in a general 
manner. To unite the scattered records now growing dim, to 
gather the unrecorded history and tradition from a generation 
rapidly pressing to their graves, has been my purpose in 
these pages. 

In the early ages the old bards extolled their heroes, till, 
ceasing to be men, they became gods and demi-gods. In the 
Middle Ages the wandering troubadour sang the valorous 
deeds of their fathers — 

And Yarrow, as he flowed along, 
Bore burden of the minstrel song. 

In our day we turn to the record. Tradition or history, 
whether fact or myth, if not recorded, is soon locked in the 
grave. Neither bard nor troubadour repeat the story. Facts 
stranger than fiction, and heroic deeds, and chivalrous man- 
hood, and brave women have passed away. 

For reasons that possibly may appear as we proceed with 
our history, marked individuality and intense personality were 
prominent traits with the Cape people. The trend of mind 
flowed and quickened in these channels. There were men 
and women in every neighborhood who thought, and talked, 
and acted for themselves. Without a model, and without a 
master, unaffectedly and unconsciously, they were really strong 
characters. Shakespeare could have here found a moralizing 
Jacques, or a volatile Mercutio, with ready words in their 
mouths. For latitude of expression and quaint thought, Haw- 
thorne should have visited Truro. Sometimes he would have 
found Solomon, and sometimes — 

Rabelais laughing in his easy-chair. 

They were wiser than the ancients, and became quoted as 
authority. Linked with past generations and local history, 
they were a history in themselves. This peculiar phase and 
expression of character was not, as may first seem, accidental, 
but an evident outcome of certain conditions of birth ana 
education. 



1 8 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

De Tocqueville, in his Democracy of America, says : "Indi- 
vidualism is of democratic origin, and threatens to spread in 
the same ratio as equality of condition. Aristocracy makes a 
chain of all the members of the community, from the peasant 
to the king ; democracy breaks that chain, and severs every 
link of it. As social conditions become more equal, the num- 
ber of persons increases who, although they are neither rich 
nor powerful enough to exercise any great influence over 
their fellows, have nevertheless acquired or retained sufficient 
education and fortune to satisfy their own wants." Had the 
French statesman made a study of this people, he could not 
better have described them. 

Fifty years ago, a short sail in the weekly packet, with the 
traditional " cap'n," set the visitor face to face with the Cape 
families. They lived happily and contentedly, and very much 
as had the generation who had preceded them. Here was 
rest, and peace, and comfort. A luxury, it sometimes may be, 
not to have the conveniences and modern improvements ; not 
to vibrate by the pendulum of society: to enjoy for a season 
blunt hospitality, homespun manners, old-fashioned freedom, 
and a mail once a week. In 1798 Provincetown petitioned 
the General Court " for a mail to come down the Cape," with- 
out specifying whether once a week or once a month. As 
railroads and other innovations have pushed in. bringing facil- 
ities, simplicity, and hearty good cheer, and old-fashioned good 
breeding, have pushed out, taking oceans of home comforts 
with them. Great improvements are great vandals to the 
peace of a quiet country home. The railroad and modern 
trunk are great levelers. Not a village or hamlet, in the 
mountains, or by the seashore, that has not been invaded and 
profaned by fashion and newspapers. Individuality and true 
independence shrink from commonplace uniformity. Long- 
cherished provincialisms and long-respected customs have 
been dethroned. Achilles is sleeping in his tent. In spite, 
however, of these facts and our prejudices, honesty compels 
the confession that this wide-awake, eagle-eyed spirit, this 
newspaper millennium, practically and commercially, ha? 



INTR OD UCTION. 1 9 

brought its equivalent in a new life. This I cannot denv 
how much the world is the gainer or loser thereby, is not my 
province to discuss. 

While our history is principally the sayings and doings for 
two hundred years of a small Massachusetts coast-town, we 
claim it as representing the sterling manhood which has always 
made the common people the glory and crown of our Common- 
wealth. 

" The great mass of mankind are, and always will be, the 
plain common people. They live by their daily toil, and are 
daily covered by the dust of the farm or shop, or the spray of 
the ocean. They have good common sense, and big warm 
hearts." 

Few of the men of whom we write were known beyond the 
General Court, the town meeting, and the business callings 
of life. Neither rich or poor, learned or ignorant, high or 
low, they were just such men and women as seldom rise or 
fall to public notice, but patiently strive to be useful in their 
day and generation. 

Inured early to the wholesome discipline of toil, they early 
assumed the responsibilities of life, and cheerfully bore its 
burdens. Dutiful children, a support and blessing to their 
parents, self-sacrificing and faithful. to their families, kind and 
obliging to their neighbors, industrious, enterprising and 
religious, they were prized in life, sincerely mourned for in 
death, and left the world better for having been born. 

Men of broader influence it would not be difficult to find ; 
but in the direct obligations of society, growing out of home, 
neighbors, friends, Church, and State, I have yet to find a 
higher average of model citizenship. 

For nearly one hundred and fifty years there were no very 
important changes in the customs, employments, education, 
and condition of the people. Many times war checked their 
enterprise, destroyed their capital, and ruined their business : 
they as often rallied, multiplied in numbers, and increased in 
substance. 

Many times appalling misfortunes overwhelmed them. 
The ocean swallowed the young men, and the mourners went 



2o TRURO — CAPE COD. 

about the streets. But still fathers and sons launched away, 
braving the elements, and returned laden with ocean spoils. 
They lived, as the records show, in great peace among them- 
selves ; and had there not been a jail in the land, they would 
have been no better or worse. 

Educated in schools they were only to a moderate extent ; 
but according to the theory of a late writer, that " modern 
education is a beginning of many things, and it is little more 
than a beginning," they had a good start. 

It was the boast of Earl Douglas to St. Bothan, that, — 

Son of mine, 
Save Gawain, ne'er could pen a line. 

What shall we say of those other sons of Douglas, ignorant 
of letters, but describing a broad realm of trained capacities ? 

Alcibiades only learned his letters, to play on the cithera, 
and to wrestle. These made up his education. Said Socrates, 
his teacher, in carefully enumerating these accomplishments: 
" I also pretty accurately know what thou hast learned ; thou 
wilt tell me if anything has escaped me." 

This man is described as one of the most celebrated 
Athenians of ancient Greece. As living in the most refined 
and intellectual society, himself mentally and bodily the per- 
fect type of his splendid race. An eloquent and powerful 
speaker, and a most capable commander by sea and land. 
On the other hand, as illustrating the boundaries of education, 
Sir Walter Scott has been spoken of as a half-educated man, 
because he was not a master of the language of Alcibiades. 

These differences, however, are only apparent ; they are not 
the true pole : there is no antagonism. Our tangent makes 
the false clip. The standard of education is not too high or 
too broad ; the work is higher and broader, and indirectly 
points to the college of the future. 

The schoolhouse does a part, but outside the schoolhouse, 
be it the academy or the university, multitudes are laying 
down fresh trophies in the domains of science and discovery. 

The men of this community were educated in the school of 
experience. Their course of study was the practicable and 



INTR OD UCTION. 2 1 

the possible things of life. This is a school of self-support 
and self-respect ; of individuality ; how best to accomplish a 
given purpose with given means. 

This education gives educated faculties and educated judg- 
ment, always in demand. To this practical trait of the Eng- 
lish mind the world is undoubtedly indebted for the strong 
guarantees of constitutional rights, civil and political. Lord 
Bacon seems to suggest this thought in that splendid passage 
on learning, concluding, "That it will make learned men 
wise in the use and administration of learning." 

Much has been said of the barrenness of Cape Cod. The 
accidental fact, to an individual or a community, of being 
cast where the crust of our planet is a few feet or a few inches 
thick, whether of sand or clay, shingle or shale, should not 
discriminate unduly to their praise or censure. The laws of 
physical geography, however, reveal the fact that these 
accidental causes have an overruling agency in the develop- 
ment of mankind. From certain climate and soil, we may as 
surely expect a certain crop of men, as of corn or potatoes. 
Fine soil is not a sure indication of a fine crop of men. The 
rugged places of the world ever produce a rugged race of 
men, with strong physical and mental organic forces. 

The sandy dunes and strands of Cape Cod are not suggest- 
ive of high-standing corn-fields, or rich-rolling meadows. If 
her crop of men is no better, there need be little said. Stran- 
gers and visitors, in describing the nakedness of the land, 
sometimes indulge their fancy by comparing the poverty of 
the soil with the homes of the people. They wonder for the 
hundredth time, what kind of people live in such a sandy place, 
how they live, and what they do, and why they live there, 
when there are so many other places in the world ? I trust 
an answer will be found to these questions in the careful 
perusal of these pages. 

That so many generations have lived and reasonably fulfilled 
the duties and obligations of citizenship, and contributed some- 
thing to the outside world, disarms all criticism, or changes it 
to compliment. 



22 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



It is not my province to magnify their virtues, but to write 
their history. " The historian should not appear an advocate." 
If it shall appear that they have run well in the race of life, 
and are entitled to an honest reward, I shall feel an honest 
pride in that verdict. But I am not anchored alone to that 
verdict. 

If in these pages the memory of the dead shall be honored ; 
if pleasant memories shall come to those who have fough 
hard on the field of life, and are resting in serene old age ; 
and if the young shall take new courage for a noble manhood 
and womanhood, re-consecrating their native soil, then I 
shall be content. Then we may all say : — 

Our land, our land, our fatherland, 

O land of precious worth ! 

There's not a height by breezes fanned, 

There's not a dale, there's not a strand 

More loved than that that gave us birth, — 

Than our dear fatherland. 




CHAPTER II. 
THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 

Elizabeth's Court. National Niche. Greek Mythology. Common Structure. The 
dumb Nations. Test of Civilization. Nature and Religion. Pliny. Roger Wil- 
liams. Liquid Language. Courage. Canonicus the Brave. The Challenge. The 
Pequots. Judge Potter. The Paomets. Cape Tribes. Nine Kings. A lusty 
Pamet. Capt. Standish and Winterwemet. Capt. Richard Bourne. Praying Indi- 
ans. The simple League. The young "Injuns.'' Indian Trinity. Indian Nobility. 
Indian Poetry. Indian Pictures. Indian Graves. 

WHEN Queen Elizabeth's court was most brilliant with 
the learning and splendor of Europe, a white foot had 
scarcely pressed these shores. Contemporary with this grand 
English age, a strange, wonderful, and almost unknown race 
were living where now stand the queenly cities and towns 
of America. From the savage barbarism of the American 
Indian to our present enlightenment, a greater contrast has 
never existed. The Indian has become a prominent figure in 
American history. 

Not a small portion of our great libraries are devoted to 
their mysterious origin, and their rightful place in the scale of 
nations. While they approximate almost every ancient nation, 
they touch none. Some of the Western tribes had a tradition 
of great warriors or braves sleeping in the great mounds ; as 
the Greeks kept alive for centuries, where murdered Agamem- 
non had been entombed. The burial customs and ceremonies 
of some of the tribes are almost identical with the Greek. They 
have stories exactly corresponding with Hercules going down 
to the dark realms of Pluto and forcing the gods to release 
Theseus ; but the Indian Pluto had a war-club instead of Cer- 

23 



24 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

berus. The doctrine of transmigration of souls agrees with Py- 
thagoras', brought over to Greece from the priests of Thebes. 

They had traditions, or broken relations, of one who walked 
on the sea and wrought mighty miracles, plainly indicating 
some knowledge of Christ the Lord. In some respects they 
resemble the Jews, in some the Hindoo, the Tartar, and the 
Malay races. 

It is an accepted principle that, although there may not be 
a word in common in the one thousand six hundred and 
twenty-four dialects among the tribes from the Straits of 
Magellan to the Arctic Ocean, yet a common structure is anal- 
ogous to them all ; and that this structure is identical with the 
Tauranian nations of Northern Europe and Asia, as the Lapps, 
Finns, and Tartars. These all fall into the Malay race, to 
which the indigenous American is now, I think, generally 
admitted. 

These hyperborean tribes must have reached Greenland by the 
west, and America proper by Asia across the Behring's Straits. 
The Esquimaux tribes in Greenland living in the sterile lati- 
tudes from seventy to eighty degrees, have the same physical 
characteristics as their probable ancestors ; while the tall, 
straight tribes of the continent show as plainly their Tartar 
extraction. The American Indian, whatever his original 
history, is fast fading from the family of man. By a law as fixed 
as fate, his end is sealed. But they have written themselves 
imperishably upon our history, and are interwoven in the fabric 
of our national life. We have wisely adopted many of their 
proper names, which glide gracefully into and enrich the 
English tongue. More than half of our States, rivers, great 
lakes, and grand mountain ranges, will perpetuate their musi- 
cal language as long as the language endures. 

Scholarly antiquarians and archaeologists, by heroic sacri- 
fices and consuming labor, have brought to light things of old. 
The crude hieroglyphics of the Pharaohs, and the long-buried 
cities of Pompeii and Mycenae have found a tongue, but the 
Indian remains dumb as the everlasting hills. The history 
of men who piled the great earth-mounds of the West, who 
built the subterranean cities of Central America ere Rome 



THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 25 

was founded, and offered thousands of human beings at a 
single sacrifice in the great temples of the Sun, before Abel 
brought the firstlings of his flock, who shall tell ? 

The Indians never possessed the art of bread-making. 
Food and clothing are a standard of civilization. The only 
animal that cooks his food and wears clothing, is man. When 
we find a man that does not cook his food and wear clothing, 
we say he is a savage or a barbarian. 

As the wants of mankind are developed by artificial appli- 
ances, so he rises in the scale of civilization. This is edu- 
cation. This development brings more definite conceptions 
of the future life, and opens up a wider field of speculation, 
but does not increase worshipful faculties. Religious belief 
and religious worship in some form, is the normal and uni- 
versal outflow of human nature. No nation or people has 
been discovered so rude or degraded as to reject a God, or 
gods, and a spirit world, with existence in some conditions. 

That this spontaneous belief, this out-reaching of humanity 
towards the spiritual, is a proof, or an argument of the fact, 
seems analagous. Nature is neither niggard or prodigal of 
her resources. 

She decks herself in lovely and varied tints to please the 
eye, exhales sweet fragrance to please the sense, and creates 
harmony to please the ear ; and because there is an eye, a 
sense of smell, and an ear to be pleased. 

She has created in the mother love toward her offspring. 
If there be a failure of these instinctive duties, we say, a 
monster! because love is God-given. Man has been created 
with a nature grasping for God and immortality. If he dies 
like a beast, goes out like the snuff of a candle, then natural law 
is a mockery and a lie. Then " lo the poor Indian," who — 

Sees God in trees, and hears him in the win^, 

had been badly cheated before the Pale Faces crossed the 
great waters. For want of this faith, or rather because 
rejected, the heathen Pliny exclaimed, " Man's nature is a 
lie!" 



26 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Roger Williams spent a generation among the Indians. As 
a faithful minister of Jesus Christ, he sought their spiritual 
and temporal good. 

He says: "I believe they are lost;" but as an apology 
for his theology, his great heart of Christian charity reveals 
the moral grandeur of Roger Williams as he concludes the 
sentence: "and yet I hope, in the Lord's holy season, some 
of the wildest of them shall be found to share in the blood of 
the Son of God. I know not with how little knowledge and 
grace of Christ the Lord may save, and therefore will neither 
despair nor report much." 

This sentiment was two hundred years in advance of his 
age. The Poet-laureate revives the same chord : — 

Oh ! yet we trust that somehow, good 

Will be the final goal of ill, 

To pangs of nature, sins of will, 
Defects of doubt and taints of blood. 

The Indian language is no less a puzzle than their origin. 
Instead of crude monosyllabic sounds, they have long, ryth- 
mic words, exuberant with poetic imagery. Their proper 
names, and their relentless wars and courage, would make 
a tragic poem. 

Massassoit and Canonicus, Tecumseh and Pocohontas, 
sound as heroic as Homer, Achilles and Ulysses, Hector and 
Helen ; while Ohio and Alabama, Saratoga and Monongahela, 
are no less liquid than Argosand Attica, Olympus and Mycenae. 
The Indian could count hundreds of miles between his battle- 
fields, where the Greeks could count leagues. 

In courage, the world has never seen a higher order. 
" I like it well that I shall die before my heart grows 
soft, or that I shall have said anything unworthy of 
myself," said the brave Canonicus, spurning the offer of 
liberty if he would betray his tribe. 

The brightest pages of Grecian or Roman history narrate 
nothing more heroic or grand. It was the same chief who 
sent Miles Standish a bundle of arrows tied with a snake- 
skin. The doughty captain, not to be outdone by a savage, 



THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 



-7 



kept the arrows, but returned the snake-skin stuffed with 
powder and shot. 

"Your governor is only a subject of King Charles ; I shall 
treat only with the king, my brother. When Charles of Eng- 
land comes I am ready," was King Philip's reply to the- 
governor's messenger. 

The cruelty of the Indians was for real or imaginary 




K -L 



RETURNING THE SNAKE-SKIN. 



wrongs. It was their boast that they scalped only their ene- 
mies. History regards the Pequots as the most bloodthirsty 
tribe in New England ; but as fair a man as Governor Win- 
throp said, "The Pequots had done Massachusetts no harm." 
Judge Potter charges the English with being responsible for 
the Pequot War. But the judge fans his indignation on the 
Puritans, to better defend the Quakers whom history has 
nobly honored. 

Comparatively little is known about the Pamets ; but it 



28 TRURO— CAPE COD 

becomes our history not to pass unnoticed the original inherit 
ors of our homes. They lived in the same sunny valleys ; 
the smoke of their wigwams curled in the same sky ; they 
drank from the same springs ; they planted their corn, 
beans and pumpkins in the same fields, fished in the same 
waters, and were buried in the same mother earth. It is 
doubtful if they were ever as populous in the country as has 
been generally believed. The Indians knew nothing of cal- 
culating numbers. They discoursed in figurative language, 
and were inclined to cultivate the .wonderful. A few score 
of warriors were more than the leaves of the forest or the 
fish in the sea. 

It is not possible to make a complete connection of the 
Cape tribes with the Wampanoags or Pawkunnawkutts, which 
embraced them, and of whom Massassoit was king. History 
is conflicting touching the jurisdiction and authority of the 
great sachem, and exceedingly vague as to the fealty of the 
petty chiefs. 

Comparing the best authority, I believe the Cape tribes, 
and those of the Vineyard Islands, were nearly independent, 
as they were generally harmonious and in sympathy on all 
important interests. It is well known that they refused to 
fight with King Philip, and were faithful allies of the English 
during that terrible war, although Massassoit, his father, 
claimed to own all of Cape Cod. 

Gookin says, " The Pawkunnawkutts were a potent nation 
in former times, and could raise, as the most creditable and 
ancient Indian affirms, about three thousand men." 

Great numbers of them perished by a fearful epidemic, or 
an "unwonted plague," a few years before the Pilgrims came. 
In Plymouth and vicinity all had died, thus leaving their 
lands ready for the new planters. This was accepted as a 
divine interference. In King James' Charter, November 3, 
1626, he refers to this mortality: "Also that we have been 
further given certainly to know, that within these late years, 
there hath by God's visitation reigned a wonderful plague." 

The principal Cape tribes were the Cammaquids, Nausets 
and Pamets, or Payomets. Iyanough was the courtly, gen- 



THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 29 

erous, but unfortunate sachem of the Cammaquids. For 
him was named the beautiful village of Hyannis, sitting like 
a gem on the southern coast of the Cape. 

The Nausets, a quite powerful people with Aspenet as 
chief, occupied Eastham and the neighboring towns. It is 
to be regretted that a name so significant should have been 
laid aside for Eastham, and again neglected to patronize the 
French Court, when Orleans was incorporated. The late 
David Snow honored one of his largest ships with this name, 
and a majestic figurehead of the proud chieftain, which she 
bore to all climes. 

The Payomets owned all north of the Nausets. They were 
a considerable tribe, and the first of whom we have a his- 
torical record. That they were greatly reduced when the 
Pilgrims landed, is evidenced by the deserted wigwams and 
numerous graves which they found. 

Some years after this time Mr. Gookin writes : " The next 
tribe of importance were the Pamets, whose possessions 
were the Cape, below Nauset, with their principal settlements 
at Pamet and Meshaum. 

The first landing of Gosnold was on Cape Cod, in 1602, 
and must from his description have been among the Pamets. 
"When a young Indian with plates of copper hanging in his 
ears, and with a bow and arrow in his hand, came to him in 
a friendly manner, offered his services — ." This is the first 
notice that I have found of any writer of a Cape Indian, 
and it is worthy of notice that he came in a friendly manner. 

Captain John Smith coasted the Cape, and often landed 
there before the great pestilence. He says, " On the Cape 
doth inhabit the people of Pawmet." 

Mr. Winslow, in narrating an excursion by Captain Stan- 
dish to the Cape after corn in March, 162 1, says : " There was 
a lusty Indian of Pawmet, or Cape Cod, there present, who 
had ever demeaned himself well towards us, being in his gen- 
eral carriage very affable, courteous, and loving, especially 
towards the captain. 

" This savage was now entered into confederacy with the 
rest, yet to avoid suspicion, made many signs of his continued 



3© TRURO — CAPE COD. 

affections, and would needs bestow a kettle of some six or 
eight gallons on him, and would not accept of anything in 
lieu thereof, saying he was rich, and could afford to bestow 
such favors on his friends whom he loved." The Indian of 
Pawmet accompanied Captain Standish to Plymouth, and was 
importunate that the captain should take the first opportu- 
nity of a fair wind to go with him, but the governor caused 
Captain Standish to send him away without any distate. 

This "confederacy" mentioned by Mr. Winslow was under- 
stood by the fiery captain and the Pilgrims — whether with 
or without cause has been often discussed — to be between 
the Massachusetts, represented by Winterwemet, "a nota- 
ble, insulting villain," and the Cape tribes, of whom the 
lusty Pawmet was a party, to kill Captain Standish and 
his little company. While it became the English to be ever 
on the alert, they sometimes, doubtless, were over suspicious. 
History has held Standish responsible for the slaughter of 
Winterwemet. 

It is a matter of history that the Cape Indians were more 
friendly to the English, more humane and more easily con- 
verted to Christianity, than any other nation. 

Undoubtedly, one of the nine kings who signed the treaty 
declaring themselves the loyal subjects of King James, men- 
tioned by Mr. Winslow, was sachem of the Pamets. Which 
of them it seems impossible to determine. Robert Cushman 
confirms this opinion when he writes, and Massassoit says, 
" Both he and many kings that are under him, acknowledge 
the king's majesty of England, as Pamet, Nauset, Cumma- 
quid, Narrowhigginsett, (Narragansett)," etc., giving relative 
importance to Pamet. Captain Richard Bourne, the faithful 
missionary of the Praying Indians on the Cape, writes in 
1674 : 

"Pamet, Billingsgate and Nauset have two hundred and 
sixty-four Christianized Indians. That Pamet, since the 
death of Potanumatack, a prudent, sober man, and much 
lamented, is now destitute of a teacher." 

Mr. Bourne procured for the Indians, at the court in Plym- 
outh, the establishment ot Courts of Justice, and appointed 



THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 31 

Pampumnunacke, Keckomset, Watanamatuckes, Nanquidun 
macks, Kanoomis, and Mocuist, residents of different local- 
ities. The court ordered "that what homage accustomed 
legally due to any superior sachem be not infringed." 

Up to 1700, the Indian population were in considerable 
numbers. In 1674, Mr. Bourne reported seventy-two praying 
Indians at Pamet, most of whom had learned to read ; and it 
is noticeable that two of the Indians wrote their names on 
the agreement with the proprietors of drift fish. 

The aborigines were not naturally inclined, like the negro 
race, to be religious. It is reasonable that not half of their 
number were good enough, or willing to be called " Praying 
Indians." 

An approximate calculation would give not far from two 
hundred Indians at Pamet at this time. In 167 1 the Indians 
of the Cape were requested " to engage themselves to fidel 
ity." The first who signified a willingness to this engagement, 
were the Pamets, signed by Mr. John, and Ouaguaguausuke 
of Paomet, April 10, 

The genuine Wampanoags (Pokonokets) had, like the 
Narragansetts, resisted all attempts to convert them to 
Christianity, although under Massassoit and Alexander his 
son, they had kept in good faith the simple league of 1621, 
with the Pilgrims. Philip allowed " The Praying Indians 
were subjects, but he and his people were not subjects." 

After the permanent settlement on the Cape by the 
English, and the disposal of their lands, the Indians dwindled 
rapidly away. Heman Uoane, of Eastham, affirms that in 
1763 there were but five Indians in that town. 

In 1792, Rev. Mr. Damon wrote to the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, that there was but one Indian family 
living in Truro. I have been told by a lady now living 
in that town, that she has often heard her grandmother, a 
daughter or granddaughter of Dr. William Dyer, say, that 
when a girl, there were as many Indian boys and girls as 
white; that they used to go to school and play together; 
and " that sometimes the little Injuns tried to crow over 
us." 



32 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

In 1 716 Massachusetts contained ninety-four thousand 
white inhabitants, two thousand slaves, one thousand two 
hundred Indians professing Christianity and tilling the land 
in peace. It will be seen that the result of the first one 
hundred years of all the settlements in Massachusetts, was 
less than one thousand a year. During the same time the 
decrease of the Indians could scarcely have been less. 

The loss of life by fire, by flood, by pestilence, by famine, 
by Indian wars, the suffering, the ventures, the immense 
losses, are a part of the price paid for our inheritance. 

We have referred to the mortality of the native race, 
thereby leaving their lands to the undisturbed possession of 
the Pilgrims, which they afterwards purchased of Massassoit. 

Another circumstance as clearly providential as any event 
in history, and without which we cannot see how the. Pilgrims 
could have survived, was the friendship of Samoset, Squanto, 
and Massassoit. As subjects of rare historical interest, honesty 
and nobility of character, they are an honor to their race, 
and worthy a niche in the temple of fame. From savage 
tribes, thinned by pestilence, and basely betrayed by the 
white men, came these three men from different channels, 
and differing widely in offices, yet with a unity of purpose 
to serve the Englishman in his weakness and necessity. 
According to the white man's purposes and provocations, he 
should have expected deadly foes. Why they were not foes 
instead of friends, is not in the limits of human calculation. 
Had the Pilgrim experiment failed, in all probability no 
effort would have been again made for a hundred years. The 
result of the kindness of these three Indians cannot be 
calculated — Samoset, Squanto and Massassoit ! a trinity to 
redeem the savage taint and share the gratitude of the 
world. "When shall we three meet again ? " 

When the dreams of life are fled, 
When its wasted lamps are dead, 
When in cold oblivion's shade, 
Beauty, health and strength are laid, 
Where immortal spirits reign, 
There we three shall meet again. 



THE NATIVE AMERICAN. 33 

The foregoing verse is from the well-known and once very- 
popular hymn beginning with the first line of the witch 
of Macbeth. It is said to have been composed by three 
Indians at the planting of a memorial piece, on leaving 
Dartmouth College, where they had received a Christian 
education. 

IN MEMORY OF THE INDIAN RACE. 

I have seen a picture of a majestic river flowing through 
a valley of marvellous natural beauty. The magic hand of 
civilization had touched its teeming resources. On the bank 
of the river in the distance, are seen the spires, and towers, 
and domes of a thriving city. Its busy industries are indi- 
cated by scores of tall chimneys. Nearer, a massive bridge 
with broad, high arches, spans the river. A long train of 
cars just emerging from a tunnel, is rushing over the 
bridge. Nearer still, steamboats are dashing on toward the 
busy town. In the immediate foreground, on the edge of 
a forest, a settler has built a cabin, and made a clearing. 
On a high bluff overlooking the whole valley, stands a little 
group of Indians. With unstrung bow, and quiver full of 
arrows, they look helplessly and hopelessly upon the mag. 
nificent picture, and point sadly to the sites of their wig- 
wams and to the graves of their fathers. 

This picture is the history of the Indian race in North 
America. 



CHAPTER III. 

ENGLISH ADVENTURES AND THE RISE OF 
THE PILGRIMS. 

Cape Cod and Cornwall. The Golden Age. English Sailors. Hudson. A Mermaid, 
Sir Francis Drake. Bart Gosnold. Cape Cod named. Benjamin Drew's Poem. 
The Ancient Mariner's Log. Repeated Failures. American Fisheries. The Condi- 
tion of Europe. Who were the Pilgrims ? How they came to think so. Buxton. 
Victor Hugo. The Human Mind. The Roman Yoke. Green. Social life in Eng- 
land. The Bible. The Love of moral Beauty. The Puritan Mind. Independency. 
The Covenant. The Puritan Character. The Westminster Declaration. The 
Pilgrims or Separatists. Their Union and Covenant. Persecution. Removal. In 
Holland. Emigration. The Mayflower. Sight of Land. Cape Cod. Mourt's Re- 
lation. Bradford's Description. Poop of the Mayflower. The first Landing. De 
Costa. American Sahara. The Compact. A Historic Picture. Various Opin- 
ions. The Weight of Testimony. The Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. 

FROM Land's End to John O'Groat's house is. as old, 
but less fabulous, than King Arthur and his Round Table. 
Take your atlas — Johnson's, if you have it — and turn to 
the map of England. At the extreme southwest, jutting out 
into the ocean like Cape Cod, nearly surrounded by water on 
all its irregular sides, is the county of Cornwall. In shape it 
has been compared to a Wellington boot, but the general 
configuration is not altogether unlike Cape Cod. With a 
little imagination, Land's End with the Longships Light- 
house and Lizard Head, both well known to sailors the 
world over, may compare with the Highlands and Race 
Point. 

The Scilly Isles may match the Vineyard Islands, and 
the celebrated Eddystone, blazing out in the English 
Channel, not inaptly supplies Minot's Light. To help our 

34 



THE RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 35 

comparison, during spring tides the ocean has threatened 
to sweep across the low-lying lands between St. Ives and 
Mounts Bay, making an island just as the Atlantic has 
threatened to cut off the lower part of the Cape. 

The parallel holds remarkably good also in the employ- 
ment, habits, customs, and peculiar phraseology of the peo- 
ple; but here it ends. Instead of sandy shores, Cornwall 
presents a precipitous, iron-bound coast, its highest granite 
point rising to one thousand three hundred and sixty-eight 
feet. Huge rocks tossed and balanced upon each other like 
icebergs in the arctic regions. The stubborn granite, the 
gray syenite, and the motley serpentine are splintered and 
battered by a thousand fierce storms. 

Here, and in the adjoining counties of Devon and Dorset, 
are a score of familiar names ; as Barnstable, Falmouth, Truro, 
Kingston, Dartmouth, Yarmouth, Weymouth, Portsmouth, 
Dover, Exeter, etc. ; all plainly indicating the old homes of our 
ancestors who perpetuated home memories across the ocean. 
From these places came the great Devonshire seamen of 
Elizabeth's prosperous reign, the Golden Age, which gave 
name and fame the world over to England — her great navi- 
gators and discoverers ! Rainsborough, high in command 
in the Parliamentary army with Cromwell, had been a " skip- 
per at sea." Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 
both born in Devonshire, the sons of one mother, were 
favorites at the court of Elizabeth. On one she bestowed a 
grant larger than her own kingdom, and on the other a 
golden anchor. The queen used to say, " The Cornish gen- 
tlemen were all courtiers with a becoming confidence." 

Longfellow's ballad revives the memory of Sir Hum- 
phrey : — 

Beside the helm he sat, 

The Book was in his hand. 
" Do not fear ; Heaven is as near," 

He said, "by water as by land." 

The sons of the first settlers on the Cape, the small farm- 
ers and fishermen, first " skippers at sea," became the first 



36 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

masters and navigators of our merchant marine, took an 
active part in our infant navy, and later became merchants in 
our cities. 

In 1609 Captain Henry Hudson claims to have discovered 
Cape Cod, and anchored at the north end of the headland. 
His men went on shore and brought off wild grapes and roses. 
He, being a Dutchman, called it New Holland, by which 
name it is represented on the old Dutch maps. The extremity, 
probably Race Point, he called White Point, from the white 
sand. The abundance of wild roses and grapes still growing 
among the wooded hills near the beach, well sustain Hudson's 
report. He also claims that they here discovered a live 
mermaid, which species are not now often found in our waters. 
Perhaps Professor Baird, with his powerful electric light, will 
be able to discover her hibernating with the mackerel and 
bluefish. Captain Hudson afterwards discovered the noble 
river that bears his name. Upon the authority of Drake, the 
historian, the first Englishman that set foot upon the soil of 
New England was Sir Francis Drake, in 1586, and that it was 
upon some part of Cape Cod that the great circumnavigator 
landed. Bancroft also asserts that Cape Cod was the first 
spot trod by an Englishman. 

It has been stated that Captain Bart Gosnold was the first 
Englishman to tread the shores of Cape Cod ; but from the 
evidence, we think the claim fails. Captain Gosnold sailed 
from Falmouth, March 26, 1602, in the Concord of Dartmouth, 
and was the first English navigator who shaped a straight 
course across the ocean. Previously, all vessels made the 
passage by the way of the Canaries, as did Columbus in 1492. 
Whatever else did or did not this ancient mariner, everybody 
is agreed that he named Cape Cod ; and so effectually, that 
blow high or low, cold or hot, thick or thin, fish or no fish, it 
has hung on like a lamper-eel, from that day to this. Cotton 
Mather says : " A name, I suppose, it will never lose till the 
shoals of codfish be seen swimming on the highest hills." And 
says Robert C. Winthrop : " The homely, but now endeared 
and honored title of Cape Cod." Captain John Smith named 
it Cape James, for his king. Another statement is, that 



THE RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 37 

Charles, Prince of Wales, changed the name from Cape Cod to 
Cape James, in honor of his father. The Stuart name did not 
stick, though backed up by princely favor, for which we are 
glad. The French called it Cape Blanco (white), from the 
white sandhills. Both the French and Dutch called the 
southern part, from a shipwreck there, Cape Malabarre (Bad- 
bar). The southern point of Chatharn still retains the French 
name. 

Captain Gosnold has left a " relation " of his voyage by the 
hand of Gabriel Archer, who acted as secretary for the old 
captain, and wrote up his log. We quote from the relation : 
" On the fifteenth day of May we had again sight of land, 
which made ahead, being as we thought an island, by reason 
of a large sound that opened westward (Cape Cod Bay) 
between it and the mainland ; for coming to the west end 
thereof, we did perceive a large opening. We called it Shoal 
Hope. Hope was a Celtic word then considerably in use, 
meaning an inclined plane between ridges or hills, in more 
common use, broken hills, which to Gosnold, lying in fifteen 
fathoms, with Cape Cod Bay open, would have been a perfect 
description. Near this cape we came to anchor in fifteen 
fathoms, where we took great store of codfish, for which we 
altered the name and called it Cape Cod." As appropriate to 
this connection and as part of our history, I need not apologize 
for here introducing so much of Benjamin Drew's sprightly 
poem, read at the inauguration of the Cape Cod Association 
in Boston, a£ refers to the above christening : — 

There sailed an ancient mariner, 

Bart Gosnold was he high — 
The Cape was all a wilderness 

When Gosnold hove in sight. 

He saw canoes and wigwams rude, 

By ruder builders made, 
Squaws pounded samp about the door, 

And dark pappooses played. 

The hills were bold and fair to view, 

And covered o'er with trees, 
Said Gosnold : " Bring a fishing-line, 

While lulls the evening breeze. 



38 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

" I'll christen that there sandy shore 

From the first fish I take — 
Tautog, or toadfish, cusk or cod, 

Horse-mackerel, or hake. 

" Hardhead or haddock, sculpin, squid, 

Goose-fish, pipe-fish, or cunner — 
No matter what — shall with its name 

Yon promontory honor." 

Old Neptune heard the promise made, 

Down dove the water-god — 
He drove the meaner fish away 

And hooked the mammoth cod. 

Quick Gosnold hauled. " Cape- Cape-Cape-Cod !" 

" Cape Cod," the crew cried louder ; 
" Here, steward ! take the fish along, 

And give the boys a chowder." 

He afterwards landed, giving a description which agrees 
with all the first visitors who landed on the lower part of the 
Cape. Vast sums of money, much warfare, and multiplied 
attempts had been made to effect permanent settlements 
in connection with the development of the fisheries, the 
christianization of the nations, and the ambition of adventure. 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges with his great wealth and indomitable 
enterprise, had spent twenty thousand pounds in vain. Two 
hundred and fifty years ago, one hundred thousand dollars 
was a large amount of private capital to stake in a single 
enterprise. 

Sir Ferdinando had been an officer in Queen Elizabeth's 
navy, and was intimately connected with Mason, who settled 
New Hampshire, and with Sir Walter Raleigh. He was 
determined to have his name and fame honorably connected 
with the history of America. Mason spent an equal sum in 
attempts at permanent settlements at Dover Neck and Pis- 
cataqua. 

The heroic Sir Walter Raleigh had pushed colonization 
with his eager enthusiasm. But the wealth and position of 
Gorges and Mason, the chivalry and genius of Raleigh, could 
not secure a foothold in the New World. The fickleness of 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 39 

fortune and the ingratitude of republics, is well illustrated 
in the history of these enterprising noblemen, who not only 
lost their fortunes, but have scarcely been remembered in 
this great land. 

One hundred and twenty-eight years had passed since the 
discovery of America by Columbus, one hundred and twenty- 
four by the Cabots, yet with the exception of the languishing 
and distracted settlement at Jamestown, not a settlement had 
been made on the coast of North America. 

Holmes remarks, " At the death of Queen Elizabeth, in 
1603, neither the French, Dutch nor English, nor any other 
nations excepting the Spanish, had made any permanent 
settlement in America." 

Governor Hutchinson writes, in 1691, " Whether Britain 
would have had any colonies in America at this day, if reli- 
gion had not been the great inducement, is doubtful. After 
repeated attempts had failed, with great loss of money, it 
seems less probable that any should undertake it." 

These few references show the continued failure of the 
English, French and Dutch, the three great maritime nations 
of the world, to make successful settlements in New Eng- 
land before the Pilgrims. It should be further shown, that 
during this time, and many years before, the European 
nations had been greatly agitated over the fisheries of North 
America, till four hundred vessels had come annually from 
Europe to fish on these coasts." As early as 1548, the English 
fishery on the American coast had become an object of 
national importance and legislative enactment. The English 
Parliament passed an act, the first parliamentary act relating 
to America, prohibiting the exaction of money, fish, or other 
rewards by any officer of the Admiralty, under any pretext 
whatever, from the English fishermen and mariners going 
in the service of the fishery at Newfoundland." England 
was waking from the sleep of centuries. The dream of the 
Mediaeval Ages was passing away. The human mind was 
stretching out its arms to gain strength, and opening its 
eyes to the light. The people had heard the sound, and were 



4 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

seeking by all means to better their condition ; and as is 
always the case, new wants succeeded new endeavors. Ad- 
venture by sea and land had called for a world of handicraft. 
The axe rang in the old Saxon holdings. Furnaces gleamed 
along the valleys. The factory hummed with the busy notes 
of industry. The starving retainer became an artisan. A 
better civilization calling for improved living started a new 
life. All this could be traced to commerce, principally 
among which were the fisheries on the North American 
coast. Brave men dared the broad ocean and the stormy 
coasts. 

Brave men who work while others sleep, 

Who dare while others fly ; 
They build a nation's pillars deep, 

And lift them to the sky. 

Such was the condition of North America, and such the 
prospect of a successful settlement there, when the little 
Mayflower spread her scant sail on the Atlantic in search of a 
home for religious freedom. 

Leaving this lone speck on the ocean, we return, first, to 
gather from history some knowledge of the men all unher- 
alded and unknown, who led this seemingly forlorn hope. 
Second, to present various opinions concerning them. Of 
the Pilgrims, it is easier to say much than little. Theodore 
Parker said : " It is easier to praise the fathers of New 
England ; easier to praise them for virtues they did not 
possess, than to discriminate and fairly judge these remark- 
able men." 

Much the Pilgrims concern our history. Relations so inti- 
mate and historic, can scarcely be over-cherished or over- 
wrought in our lives. While we admire their character, 
revere their history, love their virtues, and honor their mem- 
ory, we must be just and judge them fairly. 

To fairly consider the Pilgrims, we must consider important 
connections ; the slow outcome of many generations. Buxton, 
the English essayist, remarks, " Not only what a man think* 
is important, but how he came to think so." 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 41 

The history of the Pilgrims is pretty well known. But the 
civil wars and religious revolutions, the persecutions and 
martrydoms of many hundred years, were the slow fires tem- 
pering the English head and heart to the Puritan mind. 
These we must consider, or we cannot wisely discriminate or 
fairly judge them. The head and heart did not die. 

It is the human mind which was named John Huss, and which did not die on 
the funeral pile of Constance ; which was named Luther, and shook orthodoxy to 
its centre; which was named Voltaire, and shook faith; which was named Miia- 
beau, and shook royalty. It is the human mind which, since history began, has 
transformed societies and governments according to a law progressively accept- 
able to reason — which has been theocracy, aristocracy, monarchy, and which is 
to-day democracy- It is the human mind which is the great factor of the gener- 
ations, and which, in short, has always marched toward the just, the beautiful. 
and the true, enlightening multitudes, elevating life, raising more and more the 
head of the people towards right, and the head of the individual towards 
God. — Victor Hugo. 

Could we carefully follow the multiform meandermgs, the 
mysterious aggregations, and the persistent onflow of the 
human mind through these centuries of religious chaos, perse- 
cution and blood, of 

— Wasting fire and dying groan, 
And priest slain on the altar stone, 

we should notice events of most prodigious import slowly 
unfolding in the world's history ; the harbingers of a better 
civilization. 

To trace these steps in the majestic march of conscience 
and liberty, from the long mediaeval night of absolutism to 
the daydawning of religious enlightenment, would lead 
through fire and sword, to the dungeon and the stake. 

The Roman yoke, both civil and ecclesiastical, was ever 
galling to the Briton's neck. Here and there, during this 
night of a thousand years, many helpless hands were raised 
to Heaven ; many protests were shamelessly trampled under 
foot by Roman imperialism. 

The controlling forces that preceded and created the 
Puritan movement, shook the moral world, and produced a 
tremendous religious upheaval of the people. 



42 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Green says, " It affected the noble and the squire, as much 
as the shopkeeper and the farmer, the middle and professional 
man." 

Religiously and mentally, the social life of England was 
blank and sterile. " No history, no romance, no poetry, save 
the little known verses of Chaucer, existed in the English 
tongue when the Bible was ordered to be set up in the 
churches." The people flocked to the Bible ; they accepted 
literally, without gainsaying or mental reservation, its teach- 
ings and its history. They wrought its phraseology into 
daily conversation, its morals into daily practice, and its 
righteousness grew daily in the form and face of the human 
temple. " England become the people of a book, and that 
book was the Bible." As the Bible became more and 
more the study of daily life, the Renaissance passed more 
and more into the shadowy past, and the love of moral 
Beauty blossomed more and more in the Puritan life. It 
produced the unruffled temper, the sterling love of justice, 
and the noble self-control which distinguished the Puritan 
gentleman for many generations. It touched the imagina- 
tion. Shakespeare's brain became the Castalian fountain of 
Parnassus, from whence sprang forth his mother tongue, 
crystallized in rubies and emeralds of immortal verse. Mil- 
ton's genius grasped the wing of faith, and rode resplen 
dent amid the empyrean host, while poor John Bunyan 
dreamed out in Bedford prison an edition of illustrated theol- 
ogy that has become a companion of the Bible around the 
Christian world. 

The final and tangible conception of religious liberty in the 
Puritan mind became known throughout the world as Inde- 
pendency. This conception, wrung from kings and prelates, 
assumed due shape and proportion in the following, which is 
substantially the constitution of the Congregational Church 
to-day : 

Any congregation of believers freely associating together constitute a sepa- 
rate Church, having the liberty to choose its own pastor, or bishop, appoint 
their own officers, and perform all the functions of self-government, with an 
ibsolute independence of all foreign control, whether ecclesiastical or civil. 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 43 

The Puritan shaped his character and conscience by the 
Bible as he understood it, according to his best judgment and 
endeavor ; that he did not understand it otherwise, makes 
him no better or worse. When the whole truth is told, 
neither party was harmless. The age was shadowed by 
grave errors. Bigotry and superstition were creeping up from 
the darkness of the past. The practical Christ-life was not 
enthroned. They accepted the law of " an eye for an eye," 
but neglected the gospel of " But I say unto you, love your 
enemies." Though they prayed all night, and fasted all day, 
they had not charity that was kind. The iron mace of intol- 
erance fell shivering the Sermon on the Mount. Of zeal and 
sacrifice there was no lack, nor of open contempt for innox- 
ious forms. 

" One sin committed by a bishop would have been worth 
more to Puritanism than all the law and the prophets." 
Neale says, " Both parties made an ill use of the sword of the 
magistrate for the uniformity of public worship when they 
could grasp the power in their own hands." 

They endorsed and lived the Westminster declaration, that 
" the first duty of man is to fear God and keep his command 
ments, to hate the devil and all his works." The devil and 
all his works meant the Bishops and the Established Church 
of England. 

Old Izaak Walton, in his Life of 'Richard Hooker, refers to 
an ingenious Italian who, while visiting England, wrote scoff- 
ingly to his own country: "That the common people of 
England were wiser than the wisest of his nation ; for here 
the very women and shopkeepers were able to judge of pre- 
destination, and to determine what laws were fit to be mad'" 
concerning Church government. 

THE PILGRIMS OR SEPARATISTS. 

The Puritan movement had been gaining ground many 
years, when, in 1602, a few families in and near the borders 
of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, a poor peo- 
ple, regarding the rule of bishops as unscriptural, ceremo- 



44 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

nious, and as relics of idolatry, united together, independently 
of the Church, in a closer and stronger brotherhood, or 
churchhood, to secure more religious liberty. 

They made a covenant " to shake off kingly oppression 
and bondage, and be the Lord's free people ; to walk in all 
the ways of the Lord, and do all his will, according to their 
best judgment and endeavor, cost them what it might." 
This is the first distinct movement of the Pilgrims, some- 
times called the Church of Scrooby. The Rev. John Wad- 
dington, of England, says, " The Pilgrim movement, when 
traced to its various tributary springs so long concealed, will 
be found richly to repay the utmost amount of care and dili- 
gence." 

In 1602 they made a Church covenant. Mark the corol- 
lary. In 1776, their children, our fathers, made another cov- 
enant, called the Declaration of Independence, in which they 
pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honors, which was 
repeating, "Cost them what it might." The covenant was 
the beginning, the declaration a great step forward in the 
grand march. We are not of that number who believe the 
march ended. 

As the Lord's free people, they met with their faithful 
minister till 1606. Being so widely scattered, they now be- 
came two distinct churches, for their better convenience. 
Mr. John Smith became pastor of one, and Mr. John Robin- 
son and Mr. Richard Clifton of the other. Mr. William 
Brewster, afterwards a Ruling Elder, also belonged to this 
Church. Being still persecuted, and seeing no prospect for 
protection, and regarding religion more than home and 
friends, they determined to flee from their own country. 
Their flight from England moved the spirit of Milton in their 
behalf. 

The history of the removal of these few score of peaceable 
and industrious families from England, their betrayals, their 
arrests, their imprisonments, their trials before arrogant 
magistrates, their fines, their homeless wanderings, the sep- 
aration of husbands and wives and children, the abuses and 
sufferings of delicate women and tender children, is a slander 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 



45 



upon the great Magna Charta. Rev. Mr. Bart 7 . . an 
English writer, referring to the same, says : 

The trials ami persecutions and abuses that befell them in * )Vdceful 
attempt to leave their own country for Amsterdam, are a burning sh/wne, and if 

(not a matter of fact, would be regarded impossible. It should be fto reproach 
to the Pilgrims themselves, that living in an age of sectarian animositv, sharpened 
by bitter persecution, they should have been not altogether untincuired hy the 
narrow spirit around them. 




1'IIE LAST MEETING AT PLYMOUTH. 



The experience of the Pilgrims in Holland, why they did 
not remain, their conference with King James, and persever- 
ance in the face of obstacles ; their preparations and depar- 
ture, cannot be repeated in this connection. 

Bradford says, referring to their trials, " That the children 
of the Pilgrims might see what difficulties their fathers 
wrestled in going through these things in their first begin- 
nings, and how God brought them along, notwithstanding all 
their weaknesses and infirmities ; and they hoped by this set- 
tlement, the honor of God, of their king and country would be 
advanced, without injury to the native inhabitants." 



46 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Edward Winslow tells how they parted at Leyden ; the 
feast, and songs, and prayers, and tears. And again at Delft 
Haven, " and there they feasted us again, and after prayer, 
performed by our pastor, where a flood of tears were poured 
out, they accompanied us to the ship, but were not able to 
speak to one another for the abundance of sorrow to part." 

There is in Pilgrim Hall, a picture by Lucy, of this last 
interview. The Mayflower sailed alone on the sixth of Sep- 
tember from Plymouth. 

After a boisterous passage of sixty-three days, on the morn- 
ing of November 9th, the Mayflozver made Cape Cod. It was 
the intention of the Pilgrims to settle south of Cape Cod. 
By some it is stated they intended to settle on the Hudson ; 
that Robert Coppin, the pilot, was bribed by the Dutch, not 
to land near their plantation. I have seen no evidence of 
Coppin' s treachery. 

The history of the Pilgrims from the time of sighting 
Cape Cod till after their settlement in Plymouth, is vividly 
told in Mourfs Relation, a reprint of the original journal of 
William Bradford. " Printed by John Bellamie, and are to 
be sold at his shop at the two greyhounds, in Cornhill, neere 
the Royal Exchange, London, 1622." 

That part of the journal that covers the thirty-four days' 
experience on Cape Cod, and the graphic account of the two 
expeditions of discovery to Truro in search of a settlement 
can scarcely be too carefully studied. 

The Mayflower rocks in the harbor's lee, 

Within the sandy Race ; 
The howling winds and angry waves 

Have yielded in the chase. 

The sight of land was welcome enough to those who looked 
out from the little ship for the first time, upon the New 
World. No wonder Bradford says, " They were much com- 
forted, especially seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the 
brink of the sea." These bold heights crowned with forests 
to their banks, were in strong contrast with the bold chalk- 
cliffs of England, and the flat shores of Holland. 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 



47 



As they made their course south-southwest, to run down 
the Cape, they were evidently not far off from the Highland 
which Bart Gosnold described, eighteen years before, as "a 
mighty headland." 

The night wind proving contrary, their vessel partially dis- 
abled by beating so late about the Atlantic, their passengers 
and crew worn out with anxiety and privations, they put 
back, and the next morning, the eleventh of November, 1620, 
anchored in "the Bay of Cape Cod." (Provincetown Harbor.) 



Bradford describes Cape Cod as " a good harbor and pleasant bay, circled 
round, except at the entrance, which is about four miles over from land to 
land, compassed about from sea to sea with oaks, pines, juniper, sassafras 
and other sweet woods ; it is a harbor where a thousand ships may safely ride. 
There we relieved ourselves with wood and water and refreshed our people 
while our shallop was fitting to coast the bay in search of an habitation. There 
was the greatest store of fowl we ever saw. And every day we saw whole 
flocks playing hard by us, of which in that place, if we had instruments and 
means to take them, we might have made a very rich return which to our great 
grief we wanted. 

" Our master and his mate, and others experienced in fishing, professed we 
might have made three or four thousand pounds worth of oil. For cod we 
assayed, but found none : 
there is good store, no doubt, 
in their season. The bay is 
so round and circling, that 
before we could come to 
anchor we went round all the 
points of the compass." 

As the Mayflower 
approaches the wel- 
come harbor, and is 
swinging around all 
these points of the 
compass, watched by 
anxious, eager eyes, 
step with Bradford 
upon the high poop 
deck, and behold Cape 
Cid of 1620. 

Having rounded Race Point, then as now mingling sky, 




THE MAYFLOWER KNTKKING CAfE COD HARIiOR. 



48 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

beach and ocean, a bend in the coast, wooded to the water- 
line, offers a sheltering cover. Stretching again seaward a 
long arm studded thick with trees is reached. The shore 
now changes from south-southeast eight points to east-north- 
east. Following this low shore several miles to a sharp 




RACE POINT. 1878. 

sandy point, the great harbor of Cape Cod, its quiet waters 
picturing a perfect haven of rest and safety, opens full to 
view. 

The sheltering cove we passed is now known as Herring 
Cove ; the long arm seaward is Wood End, and the sharp 
sand point is Long Point. 

Two hundred and fifty years has graced these three points 
with lighthouses, and some few dismantled earthworks tell 
of defenses ; but every tree and shrub and fleck of soil and 
spear of grass, has long since disappeared, leaving nothing 
but white sand and scattering tufts of struggling beach grass. 
Alaric and his northern hosts could not more effectively 
have stamped out every blade of grass. 

As the Mayflower heads toward the harbor, you behold 
steep banks, oak, pine and cypress crowning all the heights. 
Following the circling shore eastward, the banks break, and 
recede, terminating in high irregular hills clad in sombre 
pine. Still following the shore across a low beach, a well- 
wooded headland covered with an unbroken forest, stretches 
to the south far as the eye can reach. The headland, well- 
rounded, is High Head; the unbroken forests then so com- 
manding in the eyes of the Pilgrims, are now the bare table- 
lands of Truro. 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 49 

Beneath my shade, the red man slipping, 

Himself a shadow, stole away: 
A paler shadow follows him! 

The irregular hills are now the northern limits of Truro, 
and to-day form the most perfect Sahara in the world. 
The Rev. B. F. DeCosta writes : 

This neck is from three to four miles in length, and of great elevation, being 
composed of pure white sand. Seventy years ago it was studded with stumps of 
trees which had been choked by the upward march of the drift, but every vestige 
of these long since disappeared. This elongated hill forms one of the most 
impressive objects in nature. Viewed at early dawn, when the fog from the 
Atlantic purpling in the rising sun, bathes the vast sand-drift in a soft amethystine 
light, the sight is one capable of exciting the deepest admiration. Such must be 
this sight to all impressible minds, whether viewed in the purpling light of 
morning, in the bright effulgence of the sun's meridian splendor, or at evening, 
when the naked waste gloams fitfully in the weird supernatural twilight. Then 
the solitary and belated tourist, as the solemn voice of the surf salutes his ear, 
will start ; and as the dim forms darkle around him, the air seems to grow thick 
and tangible, and he becomes half-conscious of the presence of some great all- 
pervading spirit. 

That first day on board the Mayflotver in Cape Cod harbor, 
preparatory to landing, they set their hands to the following 
agreement : 

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal sub- 
jects of our dread sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great 
Britain, France, Ireland, King, defender of the faith, etc. 

Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian 
Faith, and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in 
the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the 
presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into 
a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furthermore of 
the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such 
just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, offices from time to time, 
as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the 
Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness 
whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names. Cape Cod, eleventh of 
November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord King James of Eng- 
land, France and Ireland 18, and of Scotland 54, Anno Domini, 1620. 

They had no thought of storied fame ; 
They only watched with hearts aflame 
For the call of duty when it came. 



5 o TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Here follow forty-one names, which with their wives, chil- 
dren and servants make the one hundred. Distinct from the 
crew, there were a few other servants that did not sign the 
paper. Our old text-books used to say one hundred and one 
embarked. William Butten, the servant of Samuel Fuller, 
died on the passage. 

It is an evidence of national significance, and popular 
enthronement, that the signing of this instrument on board 
the crippled little bark as she lay riding at anchor like a 
lone bird painted against a winter's sky, has been seized by 
the artist and produced in the Nation's Capitol as a grand 
historic subject. 

The signing of the compact was on the same day of anchor- 
ing, before a landing was made. They then chose Mr. John 
Carver Governor. " Here they fell down upon their knees, 
and blessed the Lord the God of heaven, who had brought 
them over the vast and perilous ocean." 

It is true they had safely crossed the ocean, but no home 
welcomed them to its comforts, no friends offered kind greet- 
ing. They were strangers and pilgrims indeed. Home and 
friends were cut off by three thousand miles of wintry ocean. 
A desolate wilderness, savage tribes and a bleak winter, with 
sickness, and discomforts, and dangers on every side, greeted 
them. 

Here then was planted the seed of government by the 
people, and since that November day of 1620, civil and relig- 
ious liberty has been a mighty force in balancing and harmon- 
izing Church and State. 

In the whole period from the sixth to the tenth century, there were not in the 
whole of Europe, more than three or four men who dared to think for them- 
selves, and even they were obliged to veil their meaning in obscure and mystical 
language. — Buckle. 

Here were more than twoscore men publishing to the 
universe in language neither obscure nor mystical, a new 
principle in human government. 

Here for the first time in the world's history the philosophical fiction of «. 
social compact was realized in practice. — Dr. Alexander Young. 



RISE OF THE PILGRIMS. 51 

This brief, comprehensive, and simple instrument established a most important 
principle, which is the foundation of all the democratic institutions in America, 
and is the basis of \he Republic. — Baylies. 

The great battle was fought for no single generation, for no single land. The 
destinies of the human race were staked on the same cast, with the freedom of 
the English people. There were first proclaimed those mighty principles 
which have since worked their way into the depths of the American forests, 
which have roused Greece from the slavery and degradation of two thou- 
sand years, and which from one end of Europe to the other, have kindled 
an unquenchable fire in the hearts of the oppressed, and loosed the knees 
of the oppressors with an unwonted fear. — Macaulay. 

Of the many heroic emigrations from our Island Home, which have covered 
the face of the world with powerful colonies, and carried our language and liter- 
ature to the remotest bounds of the earth, no one is perhaps more singular and 
even romantic than that of a band of sectarians driven forth in the reign of James 
First, on whom the veneration of the American posterity has bestowed the title 
of 

THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

They came of an excellent stock ; the soundest if not the noblest of English 
blood flowed in their veins. Their leaders were men of conduct and education. — 
Bartlett. 

All idea of wealth or pleasure was out of the question. The greater part 
viewed the emigration as taking up the cross and founding their hopes of wealth 
to the gifts of the spirit, and their ambition to the desire of a kingdom beyond the 
grave. A set of men more conscientious in their doings, or simpler in their 
homes never founded commonwealth. — Lord Brougham. 

An act that has rendered Cape Cod more memorable than Runymede and 
the cabin of the Mayflower the proudest hall of ancient charter or modern con- 
stitution. — R. C. Witithrop. 

Most of the Pilgrims had received a good education. Many 
of them were familiar with Latin and Greek, and as classical 
scholars, had few rivals even in modern times. When King 
James said "he would harry the Puritans out of the land, or 
else do worse," and Archbishop Laud with his Court of 
High Commissioners, drove the dissenting ministers from 
their pulpits, they transferred a share of the learning and 
piety of England to the wilderness of New England ; but it 
was God's way of making that wilderness to bud and blossom 
as the rose. 

The Pilgrims were not prophets, only as consecrated 



5 2 TRURO — CAPE COL. 

Christians with great spiritual and natural gifts and graces 
and grand faith and heroic courage are always prophets. 

So nigh is grandeur to our dust, 

So near is God to man, 
When duty whispers low, " Thou must," 

Then man replies, " I can." 

From sublime heights they gaze clown the valley, and their 
sun gilds the coming centuries. Speculatively, it has been 
said they built better than they knew. Given advanced, 
conscientious convictions, high-spirited daring, zeal, faith, and 
patience, with education and deep experience, what should 
be the outcome ? The Pilgrim character has suffered from 
indiscriminate praise and censure. For this reason we have 
studiously sought to present their history from no partisan 
standpoint. While an unprejudiced study of their lives has 
revealed men with human frailties, and the faults of their 
age, yet making the most of their faults and infirmities, 
judged to-day by their merits, they stand preeminently among 
the good and great of earth. Genius and learning, poetry 
and art, the pulpit and the platform, have yielded their 
choicest gifts, till the Mayflower and the Rock of Plymouth 
are radiant and immortal. 

These self-exiled men, for conscience' sake, were our fore- 
fathers. How, more than border slogan or blast of bugle- 
horn, that word has stirred our hearts from boyhood ! If we 
have been prone to magnify their virtues and exalt their 
heroism through the prejudices of early education, there we 
stand for judgment, because they were our fathers. 

From the intense, clear, star-sown vault of heaven, 

Over the lit seas' august way, 
In the rustling night-air came the answer: 
Wouldst thou be as these are ? live as they 

— Matthew Arnold. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 

The first Boat. Where they landed. Description. Travellers' Veracity. Criticism. 
American Forests. New England Plantation. Mr. Higginson of Salem. Old 
England. The Shallop. Captain Miles Standish. A Tableau. The Rendezvous. 
East Harbor. First Water in America. 1620-1S7S. The Signal. On to the 
" Supposed River." The Pond. The cleared Land, or Indian Cornfields. Grc^t 
Hollow. The first Indian Grave. Strawberries. Cornhill. The Coast Survey 
The first Indian Corn. Corn vs Grapes. Anglo-Saxon Argument. Corn Planting. 
Captain Dermer. The River. Tom's Hill. Savages. Providence. A Deer trap. 
Stephen Hopkins. Second Discovery. Master Jones. Iron Men. Early Graves. 
Up the River. Lodging under the Pines. The Main Chance and Seed Corn. 
Pilgrim Pluck. Indian Trails. Arbitrary Lines. Indian Grave. Speculations. 
Wigwams. Conference. Pro and Con. Truro Water. Robert Coffin. A narrow 
Escape. Peregrine White. Bereavements. Providential Names. Young Billing- 
ton. Third Discovery. Freezing Cold. Grampus Bay. The first Encounter. 
Perilous Voyage. Good News. Webster on Plymouth Rock. 

THE first boat that landed contained fifteen or sixteen 
men. Mr. Bradford complains that they could not 
come nearer the shore than three quarters of a mile, on 
account of shoal water, and were obliged to wade in the 
freezing cold, which caused many to get colds and coughs. 
Good authority as Drs. Freeman and Young, think that the 
boat landed on Long Point. I can conceive of no possible 
importance where the boat landed ; but from the description 
given by Mr. Bradford, and familiarity with the location, I 
think it reasonably certain they landed at the extreme west 
of the present town, and explored towards Shang Painter till 
they saw the ocean on the other side, which they call "the 
further side of the sea." The great swamp then in front of 
High Pole Hill, and the steep banks eastward, would not have 

53 



54 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

encouraged a landing in that direction. This is the descrip- 
tion : 

They found it to be a small neck of land; on this side where we lay (in the 
harbour) is the bay, and the further side (across the land that makes the har- 
bour) the sea; the ground or earth, sand-hills much like the Downes in Hol- 
land, but much better; the crust of earth a spits (spade) depth, excellent black 
earth ; all wooded with oaks, pines, sassafras, juniper, birch, holly, vines, some 
ash, walnut ; the wood for the most part open and without underwood, fit either 
to go or ride in. At night our people returned, but found not any person, nor 
habitation, and loaded their boat with juniper, which smelled very strong and 
sweet, and of which we burnt the most part of the time we lay there. 

This "juniper," was the red cedar or savin, which all the 
early writers argue to have been plentiful, now scarce. We 
shall consider these forest productions in another chapter 

Old Francis Higginson, the first Salem minister, when 
writing to his friends in London about New England, said : 
" The idle proverb is, that travellers may lie by authority. 
But shall such a man as I lie ? " 

There is a world of light thrown on the reports of travel- 
lers of that early day, by this proverb. The honest old 
divine felt the necessity of protecting his own veracity. 
''May I not incur his wrath," says Heroditus, after telling a 
naughty story of some Olympian god. 

The descriptions of the Pilgrims have been severely criti- 
cised. Travellers equally truthful, suffer by contrast. Critics 
disagree. A wide margin lies between the best and the worst 
that may be said of a picture, a poem, or a continent. 

The religious zeal of the Pilgrims kindled their imagina- 
tion. As good a man as Mr. Bradford, with great hopes and 
saintly courage, having turned his back upon unrighteous 
Europe, and fortified for the worst that lay before him, rea- 
sonably enough felt the inspiration of the vastness and free- 
ness of the New World. No wonder the free soil and free 
forests of Cape Cod seemed rich and magnificent. All 
authorities confirm Mr. Bradford's description, that the Cape 
was well wooded, and mostly open ; or, as he says, " fit to go 
or ride in." This was caused by the annual fires of the Indi- 
ans, which consumed all brush and underwood, leaving the 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 55 

forests free for running and hunting. The grandeur, extent 
and freedom of the American forests were a never-ceasing 
source of satisfaction and delight to the English. They had 
associated forests and trees with the crown and the well- 
kept parks of the nobility. Bundles of fagots were doled out, 
as were also the coals, for so many sixpences. Abundance 
of fuel to the common people, was a luxury as unknown as 
abundance of money. 

In the "New England Plantation, or the Commodities and 
Discommodities of that Country," by Rev. Mr. Higginson, 
1629, before referred to, we catch this spirit. This cheery 
old Puritan with his English prejudices sticking like burrs, sets 
our feet on the shores of New England, with the early plant- 
ers. We sympathize in their hopes and fears, in their toils 
and prayers. We learn much of Old England life, and New 
England struggle. We nestle into their sayings and doings, 
and are more English than we know. He says, "Though it 
be somewhat cold in winter, we have plenty of fire ; nay, all 
Europe is not able to afford to make so great fires as New 
England. A poor servant here, that is, to possess but fifty 
acres of land, may afford to give more wood for timber, and 
fire as good as the world yields, than many noblemen in Eng- 
land can afford to do." 

Wordsworth's fine ballad, Goody Blake and Harry Gill, 
which has been called "the genuine spirit of ancient English 
song, connected with most exquisite poetry," touchingly 
describes this want of England. 

This woman dwelt in Dorsetshire, 

Her hut was on a cold hillside, 
And in that country coals are dear, 

For they come far by wind and tide. 

While these things were going on, the Pilgrim mothers 
were preparing for a general washing-day on the shores of 
the new land. The crowded little ship offered poor accom- 
modations to those thrifty housewives fresh from the scru- 
pulous neatness of Holland, and they set about their work 
in earnest. 



56 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

We have not all been wont to regard washing-clay as a sub- 
ject of poetry, but with poets nothing is impossible. I well 
remember when the Monday washing was regarded the live- 
liest day of the week. There was life and spirit, as well 
as work in it. Just what Margaret J. Preston has put into 
her "First New England Washing-Day," life and spirit. It 
has also been beautifully pictured by the artist as here pre- 
sented. 

And there did the Pilgrim mothers, 

' On a Monday,' the record says, 
Ordain for their new-found England, 

The first of her washing-days. 

And there did the Pilgrim fathers, 

With matchlock and axe well slung, 
Keep guard o'er the smoking kettles 

That propt on the croches hung. 

For the trail of the startled savage 

Was over the marshy grass, 
And the glint of their eyes keep peering 

Through cedar and sassafras. 



For the earliest act of the heroes 

Whose fame has a world-wide sway, 
Was — to fashion a crane for a kettle, 
And order a washing-day. 

The Pilgrims had taken with them a shallop, which they 
were obliged to cut down to put between-decks during the 
passage. As preparing her for service promised weeks 
instead of days, as had been hoped, it was determined to make 
an excursion in the meantime by land, in pursuit of a settle- 
ment. In sailing into the harbor they had noticed what 
seemed to be a river opening into this mainland. 

In stretching over they had probably seen Pamet Harbor 
at highwater. On Wednesday, November 15, sixteen men 
under conduct of Captain Miles Standish, who was that day 
chosen Military Captain, with William Bradford, Stephen 
Hopkins and Edward Tilley for Council, started on their 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 59 

FIRST EXPEDITION. 

Clad in doublet and hose and boots of Cordovan leather, 
Stood with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain. 

A tableau with these twenty men armed cap-a-pie, with 
old-English matchlocks shouldered, heavy broad-swords dan- 
gling, breast and stomach covered with steel armor, marching 




MILES STANDISH IN HIS BOOTS OF CORDOVAN LEATHER. 

single file through the heavy sand and tangled woods at 
the word of command from the doughty little captain, would 
be a picture worth seeing. The journal says : 

And when they had ordered themselves in the order of a single file, and marched 
about the space of a mile by the sea, they espied five or *i.\ people with a 
dogge coming towards them, who were savages, who when they saw them, ran 
into the woods and whistled their dogge after them. 

These savages were the Pamet Indians, who had seen the 



do TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Mayflower lying at anchor in the harbor from the Truro hills, 
as it is easy to do, and tan down, as was their custom, to see 
" what news." They were great runners and news-lovers. 
Mr. Roger Williams said he had known them to run a hun- 
dred miles in a day to hear the news, and then run back the 
next day. The paths where they ran through the woods were 
beaten by their horny feet hard and smooth as the Appian 
way. 

When the Fortune touched at Cape Cod in November, 1621, 
on her way to Plymouth, the Pamet Indians reported her 
arrival to the Pilgrims long before the welcome sail of the 
ship appeared in sight. They had run around to Plymouth, 
about fifty or sixty miles, to carry the news, welcome indeed 
to the despairing remnant who had long watched her coming. 
No wonder they ran into the woods ; why, such an impres- 
sive military procession had never before marched on the soil 
of New England, and that squad of Englishmen with their 
fighting captain, in fair field, could have sent daylight shriek- 
ing through all the red-skins on Cape Cod and Nantucket, as 
did the blade of Luno through the gloomy ghost of Loda. 

Mr. Dexter thinks this boat landed near Paine's Hill, and 
dots on his map their probable route to Truro ; that from 
Paine's Hill they struck inland over Telegraph Hill, where 
they saw the Indians and dog. 

It is reasonable that they had determined before leaving 
the ship, to visit and reconnoiter the high mainland to the 
southeast. As the circling shore lay open to view, they 
naturally would have landed as far east as possible, to have 
saved foot journey. Fifty years ago the banks almost 
crowded the shore west of the Eastern schoolhouse. 

Suppose they landed in this vicinity, "about the space of 
a mile to the sea" would have carried them to the flat land 
east of the town ; this would have been directly on their jour- 
ney. Here they met the Indians, who with their dog were 
coming from Truro, and when they ran into the woods and 
whistled the dog after them, they ran into the wood on these 
hills to the eastward, where the deep cut now is, where Stand- 
ish pursued them, " till they ran away with might and main, 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 61 

and our men pursued them out of the wood, for it was the way 
they intended to go." The journal continues : 

" They followed them that night about ten miles by the 
trace of their footsteps, and said they had come the same way 
they went." 

As for the ten miles, Mr. Dexter sensibly remarks : " It 
is safe to judge, that a man be he Pilgrim or otherwise, who 
with a heavy matchlock, sword and corselet runs half a mile 
on Cape Cod, even in its best estate, would feel as if he had 
run a mile, and estimate distances accordingly." 

They pursued their march till night came upon them, when 
they halted and held their rendezvous, setting three sentinels 
gathering wood and kindling a fire. I think the first night 
was spent nearer the "Wading Place," where the eastern 
causeway now stands, than Stout's Creek, which was just 
east of the bridge. The hills compare with the journal. 
This would have given them about four miles' journey in 
direct line. At ten o'clock the next morning they were at 
East Harbor, having marched around the Head of the Meadow, 
and as they say, "through boughs and bushes, and under hills 
and valleys, which tore our very armor in pieces." 

East Harbor proper is the pond enclosed by the causeway 
or railroad bridge to Beach Point. Previously it was a tide 
harbor. Boats used to pass up to the Head of the Meadow 
east of High Head, and up to the head of Moon-poon Pond 
west of High Head, during high tides. I have seen a dozen 
vessels hauled up for winter on the clean sand beach, just 
south of the bridge, where now a heavy marsh extends. 
East Harbor, as generally used in this history, means the 
former village of East Harbor, and embraced all north of the 
Pond Village, excepting, I think, High Head and Back Side. 

Here they entered a deep valley after passing a long creek, 
which so accurately describes East Harbor as to leave no 
doubt of the place. Says the journal : 

" There we saw a deer and found springs of fresh water, of 
which we were heartily glad, and set us down and drunk our 
first New England water with as much delight as ever we 
drank in all our lives." 



62 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

There is to this day an unfailing spring of pure water near 
the marsh, just north of the Head of the Meadow. As there 
is no other spring in this neighborhood, it is the same 
undoubtedly, from whence the Pilgrims drank water first in 
America. 

January 29, 1878, in company with Barnabas Paine, I 
visited this place, and found a clear bubbling spring, sweet, 
cool, and crystal as that November day, 1620, when Captain 
Miles Standish and his wearied guard drank thereof with so 
much delight. 

And coolly they sat on an Indian mound, 

In that moment of history's dawn — the brink 

Of a future we worshipped as past ! hallowed ground, 
And of the pure fluid they took their first drink. 

From East Harbor they marched about southwest to the 
shore or bank, where they built a fire as an agreed signal to 
the ship, now distant say four miles west-northwest across 
the Harbor. Again they marched on "towards this sup- 
posed river," when they came to another valley with a clear 
pond of fresh water, about two musket shot long and broad, 
where they found vines, and fowl, and deer, and sassafras. 
This was the present Pond Village. Marching south, they 
found about fifty acres of plain ground fit for the plough, and 
some signs where the Indians had planted corn. This 
" cleared land " was one of the Indian cornfields, and was a 
part of that fine tableland of good loamy soil, perhaps a 
quarter of a mile west of the old graveyard. 

From this point they struck again for the shore, but find- 
ing " the sea sand heavy and our men tired and lagged behind, 
we gathered them up and struck into the land again." They 
now came up Great Hollow, where they discovered an Indian 
grave, or place of graves. They opened one, over which was 
a mat, a wooden mortar, an earthen pot, and at the end, a 
bow, and arrows. 

It was the custom of the Indians to spread over the graves 
of their friends the mat on which they died, the dish out of 
which they ate, etc. These were for their use beyond the 




THE MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF MILES STANDISH, NOW BUILDING ON 
CAPTAIN'S ISLAND, DUXBURY. 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 65 

Great Water, where they had found a much better hunting 
ground than this world offered. They always make their 
graves on high and pleasant places, which could be kept dry 
all seasons of the year. 

His bow for action ready bent, 

And arrows with a head of bone, 
By midnight moons, o'er moistening dews, 

In vestments for the chase arrayed, 
The hunter still the deer pursues. 

The hunter and the deer — a shade. 

The whole vicinity of Great Hollow to Little Harbor was 
famous Indian quarters. Only a few years since, where the 
wind had blown away the sand near the bank on Cornhill, 
several Indian skeletons were discovered, one in perfect con- 
dition, with every tooth white and sound. Indians' graves 
containing sculls and bones, abundance of arrow heads, and 
stone hatchets, have been found within a few years. Great 
deposits of shells marked by a darker belt of green, tell 
where stood their old wigwams. 

Further on they discovered where the Indians had lately 
gathered corn ; here were heavy walnut (hickory) trees full of 
nuts, and strawberries and vines. These strawberries and 
vines, in December, have puzzled the reader. Strawberries 
were then not much, if at all known in England, and it is 
altogether probable that cranberries were meant, which grow 
spontaneously on the Cape. 

The abundant and spontaneous growth of strawberries in 
New England delighted the early settlers. Roger Williams 
said, " This berry is the wonder of all the fruits growing in 
these parts ; it is of itself excellent, so that one of the chiefest 
doctors of England was wont to say, 'That God could have 
made, but God never did make, a better berry.' In some parts 
where the natives have planted, I have many times seen as 
many as would fill a good sized ship. The Indians bruise them 
in mortars and mix them with meal, making strawberry bread." 
Our popular strawberry short-cake probably is only an 
improvement on the Indian mode. The high hill ending 



66 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

with the bank now called "Captain Sam's Hill," and formerly 
"Hopkin's Cliff," was named by the Pilgrims " Cornhill," a 
name that never should have lapsed, and should receive a 
fresh baptism of "Cornhill," for all times to come. Since 
writing the above, we clip from an interesting report the 
following to this point. "The superintendent of the Coast 
Survey respecting geographical nomenclature, reports that it 
was very important that the old names of places should be 
preserved both in orthography and original application, and 
that capricious changes of names should be discouraged and 
prevented." 

Here had been an old house ; here were also a few planks 
and a large kettle ; probably belonged to the Friendship, cast 
away two or three years before. Captain Dermer redeemed 
some of these men the year before ; the rest were murdered 
by the Indians in retaliation for carrying away the Indians by 
Captain Hunt. In fresh made graves they found baskets 
filled with " goodly eares of corne; some of yellow, some of 
red, and some mixed with blue, which was a goodly sight." 
The baskets held three or four bushels ; as much as two men 
could lift, and were "handsomely and cunningly made." 

They filled the baskets and the big kettle with corn, which 
two men bore away upon a staff, as did Moses' spies the 
great clusters of grapes from the brook Eshcol, to the chil- 
dren of Israel. 

The clusters of grapes, the figs and the pomegranates, 
were probably no more a welcome sight to the forty-year 
pilgrims in the wilderness of Paran, than this Indian corn to 
these English Pilgrims in the wilderness of America. Before 
taking the corn they consulted, and concluded that when 
they should meet the Indians and "parley" with them, the 
kettle should be returned and they should be satisfied for 
their corn. 

This spirit of rendering a compensation was honorable, 
but it was the Anglo-Saxon argument of first possessing and 
then parleying. Be it said, however, to the honor of the Pil- 
grims, that Mr. Winslow afterwards says "the Indians that 
dwelt thereabout were they who were owners of the corn 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 67 

which we found in the canes (caves), for which we have given 
them full content, and are in great league with them." 

The Indian season for planting corn was "when the leaf of 
the white oak was as big as a mouse's ear." The Pale Face 
cannot improve on that observation. Not far from the corn 
they found "an old fort or palisade which we conceived to 
have been made by some Christians." Probably those of the 
old wreck before referred to, built by Captain Dermer. A 
short march from Cornhill brought them to the expected 
river, "into which we went and found it so to be, dividing 
itself into two arms by a high bank. Standing right by the 
cut or mouth which came from the sea, that which was next 
to us was the less; the other arm was more than twice as 
big, and not unlike to be an harbor for ships." 

Such was the impression made upon the Pilgrims at their 
first sight of Pamet Harbor. A better description could not 
well be written. The high bank dividing the two arms well 
describes old Tom's Hill, or Indian Neck. Sturdy forests, 
then to the bank, gave a bolder look perhaps and helped the 
prospect. They saw a savage on each side of the river ; but 
as the two days would be up by the time they could return to 
the ship, which they had liberty to remain, and having deter- 
mined to revisit in their shallop, they turned their steps north- 
ward, making their rendezvous that night at the Pond, where 
they built a "barricade" and a great fire, and kept a good 
watch all night with three sentinels. It was a rainy night 
and wet their matchlocks so they could not go off. Great 
trust in Providence had these Bible-reading and God-fearing 
men, but knew very well they could not keep their match- 
locks dry in a rainy night. Theirs was working faith. They 
never turned their camel loose and committed him to Provi- 
dence, laying themselves down to sleep ; but having first tied 
the camel and set a watch, then they committed themselves 
and their camel to Providence. In the morning they sunk 
the kettle in the pond as a safe place, and trimmed their mus- 
kets for the day's march, but some lost their way in the dense 
woods. They must have come out of the dense woods very 
near where now stands the Life Saving Station. 



68 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Here William Bradford was caught in a deer trap set by the 
Indians. Stephen Hopkins, who had not much book-learn- 
ing, but seems always to have had a good store of all kinds of 
trap learning, had warned them what it was. " It was a very 
pretty device, made with a rope of their own making, and 
having a noose as artificially made as any roper in England 
can make, and as like ours as can be, which we brought away 
with us." 

They finally found their way out of the wood about a mile 
above the Head of the Meadow, or as the journal says, "A 
myle too high abouve the creake." On their way they saw 
three bucks, "but had rather have one of them," three couple 
of partridges, great flocks of wild geese and ducks. Their 
return was likely when the tide was in, as they marched some- 
times in the woods, sometimes in the sand, and sometimes 
in the water up to their knees. Having come to the ship, 
weary and welcome home, their corn was held with great 
gladness for seed. 

The route of their return has also been considerably dis- 
cussed. Dr. Dexter unquestionably takes the practical view, 
that they returned essentially as they went. The tide being 
in, the deep lagoons that penetrated the beach and the 
marshes would have made a roundabout march at the best. 

THE SECOND DISCOVERY. 

A few days after the shallop was ready. Master Jones 
(captain of the Mayflower) " to gratify his kindness and for- 
wardness," was made the leader. He took such of his men 
to manage the shallop as he thought best, making up the 
whole number to thirty-four. 

Touching the antecedents of Master Jones, I have found 
the following bit of history: "September 17, 1617, while in 
command of the Lion, a ship of Lord Warwick's, sent out 
under the Duke of Savoy a foreign friend. The Lion and 
Falcon gave chase to the Queen Mother s Junk, and had not 
the English fleet arrived, would have rifled her." For this 
attempt at piracy, Jones was sent home a prisoner on the 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 69 

Bull, and Lord Rich called attention of the King and Council 
to the seizure of his ships. 

Their destination was the river, but owing to " crosse 
windes," they were obliged to land near the end of Beach Point, 
when the long boat returned to the ship, and Master Jones 
making an appointment to meet the company as soon as the 
weather would permit, made a harbor that night inside the 
point. 

The company having waded ashore up to their knees, 
marched toward the river, "six or seven miles," perhaps three 
or four, which would have taken them in the vicinity of Great 
Hollow. Snow accompanied the wind all day ; at night it 
froze. They were without shelter or protection that winter 
night. None but iron men could have endured such hard- 
ships. Canon Kingsley says : — 

'Tis the hard gray weather 

Breeds hard Englishmen, 
But the bleak north-easter 

Through the snow-storm hurled, 
Drives our English hearts of oak 

Seaward round the world. 

But continued exposures will break down the hardiest. It 
is not surprising that nearly half their number contracted 
colds and coughs, ending in scurvy and quick consumption. 
Before the song of the turtle was heard in the land forty-four 
were resting in new made graves. Had it not been, " in the 
providence of God," a remarkably mild winter and early 
spring, all must have perished in the wilderness. We are 
forced tc believe that they were improvident of their health, 
and that much of the exposure and suffering was needless. 

The next day at eleven o'clock the shallop took them all 
on board. " With a good wind we sailed to the river we for- 
merly discovered, which we named Cold Harbor, to which 
when we came we found it not navigable for ships, yet we 
thought it might be a good harbor for boats, for it flows there 
twelve feet at highwater." 

They landed " between the two creakes," probably on the 
beach south of the hill, and marched till night, up the steep 



70 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

hills and down the deep valleys, the snow lying six inches 
deep. The shallop followed in the river. Probably the first 
boat except the canoe of the Indian, that ever entered that 
stream was this shallop from the Mayflower. 

They lodged that night under a few pine-trees, and made 
their supper "on three fat geese and six ducks which we ate 
with souldiers' stomachs, for we had eaten little all that day." 

The journal says they marched four or five miles that day, 
but as they did not reach the head of the river, as they 
intended, nor very near it, they reasonably ate their three fat 
geese and six ducks and rested for the night, near where Dr. 
Noble's house now stands. 

As this is a sheltered place, and discouraging hills were 
still before them, Master Jones was content to tarry there. 
It was then their intention to go up to the head of the river 
in the morning, thinking it would furnish fresh water. 
"But in the morning our resolution held not, because many 
liked not the hilliness of the soil and badness of the harbor." 

Having abandoned their designs of following the river, they 
concluded, with the English sagacity of looking after the 
main chance, to secure more seed corn, pursuing their steps 
to Cold Harbor. From a flock of geese they killed a brace at 
a single shot, and crossed over, seven or eight at once, in the 
canoe which they had seen on their first visit. They soon 
came to the place where they had secured the corn, "which 
place we called Cornhill." So cold had it been that the 
ground was frozen a foot deep, and covered with snow, and 
they were obliged to use their courtlaxes and short swords to 
dig and pry up the frosty doors to the Indian treasures. 
"And sure it was God's good providence that we found the 
corn, for else we know not how we should have done. Also, 
we had never in all likelyhood seen a grain of it, if we 
had not made our first journey." 

Master Jones who was so forward to accompany them, was 
now as forward to return to the ship ; but the Pilgrims meant 
business, and were determined to push their discoveries and 
make a thorough examination So Captain Jones and fifteen 
of the company left in the shallop for the ship, promising 
to return in the morning with spades and mattocks. The 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 71 

remaining eighteen lodged that night in the immediate vicin- 
ity of Cornhill. The next morning they followed Indian paths 
into the wood, which led them to abroad beaten path, which they 
supposed would bring them to the Indian houses; so they 
lighted their matches ready for an attack, but it proved a deer 
track. Having marched several miles (the journal says five 
or six) and no signs of people, they returned by another route 
to the "plain ground " west of the graveyard. 

The route of this march, the best we can calculate, was up 
Long Nook and the sandy road to the northeast, which by 
the cross paths to the northwest would have carried them 
mto the deep valley leading near to the "plain ground," or 
where the mile-board now stands, south of the graveyard. 

Our calculations are more than conjectured. Our old roads 
chrough the valleys and crossing to other valleys, were evi- 
dently old Indian paths that perhaps had been trodden by 
the dusky generations for a thousand years. In some parts 
of the country Indian trails extending sometimes hundreds of 
miles, were sized by army engineers for military roads, later 
becoming our great national highways and turnpikes. 

All railroad engineers follow the valleys and river-beds as 
near as possible, nature thus indicating with scientific 
accuracy, the great channels of travel. Few are bold enough 
to make arbitrary lines. Sir Isam. K. Brunei, who built the 
Crystal Palace and the Great Eastern, laid out the " Great 
Western Railway" like the Roman roads. The result was 
a staggering, cost to the company and ruin to the great 
engineer. In sixty miles he built fifty-seven tunnels, forty- 
three viaducts, some one hundred and fifty feet high, and 
half a mile long. The "Royal Albert" bridge over the 
Tamar at Plymouth, reaching from the heights of Devon to 
Cornwall, is perhaps the finest arch of masonry in the world. 

Near the plain ground they discovered a grave, in which 
were mats and bows, a carved and painted board, and bowls, 
and trays, dishes and trinkets. Also two bundles containing 
a great quantity of " fine and perfect red powder." In the 
larger bundle, bound up in a canvas cassock or frock, with 
cloth breeches and knife and pack-needle, were the bones and 
scull of a man with fine yellow hair. The small bundle con- 



72 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

tained the head and bones of a child, bound with bracelets of 
fine white beads. The red powder proved to be a strong 
"embalmment" in which the remains were preserved, but 
who they were has ever been a riddle. In the absence of any 
better reason, it is quite possible they were cast on shore 
from some wreck — may have been brought more than a hun- 
dred miles from the scene of disaster. The canvas jacket, 
cloth breeches, knife and pack-needle would naturally enough 
be found on a sailor, and the beads on the child. 

Ocean currents have ways past finding out. The brig St. 
fo/m from Galway to Boston, with emigrants, was wrecked 
on Cohasset rocks, October, 1849. One hundred and forty-five 
lives were lost. The bodies of a man and woman were 
picked up near the Highland Lighthouse, that must have been 
carried from this wreck. When the Commerce s crew of ten 
men were lost from the skiff on a calm, clear night in Sep- 
tember, 1844, not a mile from the shore, the bodies of the 
unfortunate crew were all found, but scattered from Beach 
Point, Truro, to Barnstable, a distance of thirty to forty 
miles. 

The great respect and veneration of the Indians for the 
dead would cause them to hold everything found as sacred. 
All the other articles are such as they bury with their own 
dead. The Indians understood something of the art of 
embalming. The red powder was made from roots and bark, 
largely hemlock, which has well known preserving qualities. 

Two of the sailors who had returned with the shallop that 
morning as agreed, discovered two Indian wigwams without 
occupants. The houses are described as being framed with 
long sapling trees, bent something like an ox-bow, both ends 
being driven into the ground, making an arbor-shaped roof. 
They were covered to the ground on the outside "with thick 
and well-wrought mats ; " on the inside they were also cov- 
ered, or hung (the Indian women called them hangings) with 
new and richly colored mats. Some of their mats were beau- 
tifully embroidered with feathers, porcupine quills dyed in 
gorgeous colors, and other ornaments of rare beauty, rivalling 
the famed mats and hangings of the East. The mat entered 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 73 

largely into the domestic life of the native Indian, and seems 
almost the boundry line between barbarism and civilization 
everywhere. The door was a mat secured at the top, so that 
without hinges, springs or latch, it need never be left open. 
A mat covered the chimney, which was a hole left in the roof, 
and to complete the outfit, the mat was also their bed and 
winding-sheet. 

They found in the wigwams wooden bowls, trays, dishes, 
earthen pots, hand-baskets made of crab shells and ingen- 
iously fastened with unseen sinews, and a great variety of 
other baskets, some very prettily wrought. Many of the 
baskets were ornamented with pictures of birds, beasts, fish 
and flowers, in high colors. Taking some of the best, the 
tide ebbing and night coming on, they hastened to the shallop, 
and that night returned to the ship. " We intended to have 
brought some beads and other things to have left in their 
homes in sign of peace, and that we meant to truck with 
them, but it was not done ; bat so soon as we can meet con- 
veniently with them, we will give them full satisfaction." 

Having returned from what they call " Our Second Dis- 
covery," they held a council as to settling there. Many 
reasons were urged in favor, and some thought it best to go 
there at once. First, there was a convenient harbor for boats, 
though not for ships. Secondly, good corn ground, ready to 
our hands, which we saw by experience in the goodly corn it 
yielded. Thirdly, Cape Cod was like to be a place of good 
fishing, for we saw daily great whales of the best kind for oil 
and bone, came close about our ship, etc. Fourthly, the 
place was likely to be healthful, secure, and defensible. But 
the last and especial reason was that now the heart of winter 
and unseasonable weather was come upon us, preventing other 
discovery without great risk. Also, cold and wet lodging, so 
that scarce any of our people were free from vehement coughs, 
endangering the lives of many. 

The objections were : First, there were other places of 
which they had heard, which were excellent harbor for ships, 
better ground and better fishing. Secondly, for anything we 
knew, there might be hard by us, afar better place. Thirdly, 



74 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



the water was but in ponds, and it was thought there would 
be none in summer, or very little. Fourthly, the water must 
be fetched up a steep hill, etc. Dr. Young says: "I suppose 
they anticipated building their town for protection against the 

Indians, on the high 
bank called old Tom's 
Hill, near the entrance 
of Pamet River." The 
bank of this hill is 
steep ; at the foot, and 
near where now runs 
the railway track, there 
used to be a well of pure 
water, from which for 
many years the fisher- 
men filled their store, 
seemed to know little of 
upon ponds, or running 
who know the ease with 



The Pilgrims 
wells, but depended 
brooks. But all those 
which wells are constructed, and the availability of water 
in Truro, will smile at the thirdly and fourthly of the re- 
port. The water springs are never dry. The creeks, and 
all surface water, drains into the bay. With neither silicious, 
or calcareous, and very little vegetable matter, the water of 
Truro filtered through a gravel rift, is pure as any under the 
canopy. I have never seen better. 




How sweet from the cool mossy bank to receive it, 
As poised on the curb it inclined to my lips. 

In three things the Cape abounds : pure water, pure air 
and pure sand, and enough of them. During the delibera- 
tion, Robert Coffin, the pilot who had before been on the 
coast, told them of a great river and good harbor on the head- 
land, over against Cape Cod, about eight leagues distant, and 
a company was chosen to go upon a third discovery. 

So narrowly escaped Truro from being the Plymouth of 
the New World, and Old Tom's Hill from becoming hal- 
lowed ground. 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. 73 

"This day it pleased God that Mistress White was brought 
abed of a son, which was called Peregrine." This was the 
first native New Englander, the original Yankee if not the 
original native American. He married Mary Basset, and set- 
tled in Marshfield ; was representative to the General Court in 
1660 and 1673; died July 20, 1704, vigorous and comely to 
the last. He left six children. A few years ago his home- 
stead was owned by John A. White, a descendant of the 
sixth generation. The father of Peregrine died soon after 
landing in Plymouth. "Mistress White" was married to 
Edward Winslow May 13, 1621. 

Bradford, Allerton, Standish and Winslow lost their wives 
in a few weeks, and as many Pilgrim wives mourned their 
brave husbands. In the solitudes of the wilderness and 
their forlorn condition, they looked to each other for sympa- 
thy and waived conventionalities. Practically, they said — 

Let the dead past bury the dead. 
Act, act in the living present — 

Like the old Jews, the Pilgrims and Puritans had a provi- 
dential way of naming their children from local surroundings, 
or events of time and place. Thus "Peregrine," travelling 
from one country; "Oceanus," a boy born to Stephen Hop- 
kins, on the ocean ; " Reliance," Governor Hinkley's daugh- 
ter, the wife of Nathaniel Stone, second minister of Boston, 
born on the day when the English whipped the Narragan- 
setts ; was so named by Rev. Mr. Russell as a token of 
Divine favor, and became a popular name not extinct to this 
day on the Cape. "Love," " Fear," "Patience," and "Wrest- 
ling," were some of the names of Elder Brewster's children. 

"Seaborn" was a son of Rev. John Cotton, born on the 
passage. He married a daughter of Governor Bradford. 
"Resolved," "Humility," "Remember," "Shining," Desire," 
and " Faith," were other female names. 

"Armemaryvetta," born 17 14, was the name of an accom- 
plished daughter of the schoolmaster, Mr. John Rogers, of 
Sandwich. Scripture names were their delight and duty ; 
the longer and harder, the more religious. " Mahershallal- 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 

hashbaz" (Isaiah viii. i.), son of William Dyar, born in New- 
port, 1 66 1. 

An old lady who lived in Provincetown, born in Truro, 
used to thank the Lord that all her family had Scripture 
names. This was the way she told them : — 

Hezekiah, Jedediah, Shebnah, and Eliakim, 
Sarah and Mary, Hannah and Penina. 

While the shallop was being made ready for the proposed 
trip, the Mayflower narrowly escaped being blown up by 
young Billington, who shot off a fowling piece in the cabin 
where was an open keg of powder ; " yet by God's mercy, no 
harm was done." This said Billington had a precious knack 
of getting into scrapes. He was the same that was lost, and 
found among the Nauset Indians sometime after. Bradford 
says of Billington, " he came from London, and I know not by 
what friends shuffled into our company." They seem to have 
been bad stock and were a source of trouble. The father was 
hanged in 1630 for the murder of John Newcomer. 

THE THIRD DISCOVERY. 

On the sixth of December ten men started in the shallop. 
The weather was cold, the water froze their clothes "and 
made them many times like coats of iron." Some of the men 
fainted with the cold. The wind was evidently northeast, so 
they got under the weather shore soon as possible, and sailed 
up to Billingsgate Point and into Wellfleet Harbor, which 
they called " Grampus Bay," as here they saw three gram- 
puses and the Indians cutting the blubber from one of them. 

They thought well of the harbor "that "a ship might ride in 
five fathoms of water; but the soil none of the fruitfullest." 
They saw two brooks of fresh water, the first streams they 
had seen in the country, also in Eastham a great burying 
place with the graves " more sumptuous than those at Corn- 
hill." The next morning after prayers they heard the cry of 
" Indians ! Indians ! " and the arrows came flying among them. 
Captain Miles Standish let fly his snap-lock, and after him 



THE PILGRIMS IN TRURO. j, 

another fired. The cry of the Indians was dreadful, and they 
were ready to meet the Pilgrims. 

After a few musket shots, the Indians having discharged 
a shower of arrows, took to their heels. Their number was 
estimated no less than thirty or forty, perhaps many more, 
* it still being quite dark they could not well see them, though 
the Indians could plainly see the white men by their great 
fire, and thought to take them by surprise — their favorite 
mode of warfare. But they reckoned without their host. 
The wily Standish was not to be caught napping — "a man 
not of words but of actions." After the skirmish eighteen 
arrows, some headed with brass, some with deer horns, and 
some with eagle claws, were picked up, which Captain Jones 
carried to England ; many others could not be found in the 
leaves. Some of the coats hung up in the barricade were 
shot through and through, "yet by the especial providence of 
God," none of them either hit or hurt us, though many came 
close by us, and on every side of us. So after we had given 
God thanks for our deliverance, we took our shallop and went 
on our journey, and called this place The First Encounter. 
The spot located by Mr. Dexter for this encounter is in 
Orleans, near the mouth of Great Meadow Creek. They 
coasted around the bay, but seeing no promising opening, 
kept on to their objective point, with Coffin for their pilot. 

A gale with snow and rain came upon them, breaking the 
rudder and splitting the mast in three pieces, and nearly 
casting away the shallop. Fortunately, at this crisis the 
harbor opened and they passed the Gurnet, entering Plymouth 
harbor in safety. 

After a thorough examination which occupied a few days, 
they returned to the ship with good news, which greatly com- 
forted them. Saturday, the sixteenth, they left Cape Cod and 
anchored safely in the harbor across the bay. And now hav- 
ing followed the Pilgrims through varied experiences to their 
new home in Plymouth, we take our affectionate leave. 



CHAPTER V. 
1670 — SETTLEMENT AT PAMET OR PAOMET— 1709. 

Indian Spelling. The Old-comers. Settlers of Eastham. The Old South Meeting- 
House. Nauset. Pamet Lands. Proprietors. Purchases. Drift Fish. Indian 
Lands. Tom Paine. Earlier Settlers. Cape Cod. Indian Fidelity. Governor 
Hinckley. Marshpee Deacon. Removal. Provision for a Minister. Nathaniel 
Ells. Commonage. Star Island. Protection to Trees. New England Ministry. 
High Commissioners' Court. Hannah North. New Lights. The Declaration. 
Enoch Pratt. Records of 1703. Drift Highway. Tashmuit. Hog's Back. Min- 
isterial Lands. Mr. Theophilus Cotton. Indian Shell Beds. Rev. Samuel Treat. 
Calvinism. Awakenings. The Great Snow. The First Clerk. A Colonial Charter. 

THE Indian name of Truro was Pamet, from the Indian 
tribe Pamets, sometimes Pawmits, Payomets and Pamoits. 
The first seems to be the accepted name, but from a study of 
the words, I incline to the opinion that Payomet is the more 
rightful and better name. 

The Indians had no written language. There was no 
authority for correct orthography till Mayhew, Eliot and 
others from the chaos of guttural sounds constructed an 
acceptable language. Before Indian words were spelt with 
as many variations as writers. 

It has also been observed that otherwise scholarly men of 
that period paid little attention to spelling, sometimes taking 
considerable latitude, even to the extent of occasionally vary- 
ing their own names. The journal of Mr. John Lathrop, the 
first minister of Scituate and Barnstable, is a marked instance 
of wide liberty. In 1640, the "Old-comers" (those who 
came by the three first ships, the Mayflower, the Anne, and 
the Fortune) obtained of the Court a grant of land on the 

78 



SETTLEMENT AT PAMET 79 

Cape, with reference to removing there, but no settlement 
was begun. In 1643, they selected Nauset, and made a pur- 
chase of the Indians. Finding it too limited to accommodate 
the whole society, much less for further increase, they con- 
cluded that part of their number might remain. In 1644, tne 
following grant was made : 

The Court doth grant to the Church of New Plymouth, or those that go to 
dwell at Nauset, all that tract of land lying between sea and sea from the pur- 
chaser's bounds at Namskeket, to the Herring Brook at Billingsgate, with the 
said Herring Brook and all the meadows on both sides of said brook, with great 
Bass Pond there, and all the meadows and islands within said tract. 

All north of Herring Brook was Pamet, owned and occupied 
by the Pamets. The same year of the grant, the following seven 
families removed from Plymouth : Governor Thomas Prince 
or Prance, John Doane, Nicholas Snow, Josias Cook, Richard 
Higgins, John Smalley and Edward Bangs. The old record 
read, " Divers of the considerablest of the Church and town 
removed." Thoreau says : " Some of the most respectable of 
the inhabitants of Plymouth removed to Eastham." Governor 
Prince's farm embraced about two hundred acres and extended 
from the Bay to the Atlantic. Some of the bounds, and the 
old pear-tree brought from England and planted by Governor 
Prince could be seen not many years ago. 

Thomas Prince, the leader in the settlement at Eastham, 
was born in Gloucestershire, England, 1600, came to Ply- 
mouth 162 1 in the Fortune. His first wife was Patience, 
daughter of Elder Brewster. While residing in Eastham, he 
was three times elected Governor. The law required that the 
Governor should live in Plymouth, but a dispensation was 
granted in his favor. Mr. Prince died in a good old age, and 
was buried at Plymouth. 

The first meeting-house, built soon after the settlement, 
was twenty feet square, with thatched roof, and portholes, 
through which muskets could be turned upon the savage foe. 
It was the house that replaced this, known as " the old 
Congregational Church in Eastham," 1718-1827, of which 
Heman Doane, the Eastham poet, wrote : — 



80 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

The Old South meeting-house, time-worn and gray, 
That stood fronting east by the " King's highway, 
That goeth to Billingsgate " — so runs the phrase, 
In the quaint old records of olden days. 

I have seen splendid temples with lofty steeples, 

With soft cushioned seats, filled with fashionable peoples, 

But none in the tablet of memory will stay 

Like the old gray church by the King's highway. 

Nauset was incorporated in 1646. The court ordered 165 1, 
that the town of Nauset be henceforth known by the name 
of Eastham. In 1674 the court ordered that Mayomoyick, 
Paomet and Satucket be included in the town of Eastham. 
The first reference to a settlement at Pamet in the town 
records, is the following : — 

Ordered by the proprietors of Pamet lands, that henceforth there be no cord- 
wood or timber cut upon any of the common or undivided land belonging to 
Pamet, to be carried off from said land, under penalty of fifteen shillings fine 
for every cord of wood, or proportionable for other timber. cut upon said land ; 
which to be paid to any of the proprietors of said land, that shall sue for and 
recover the same before any court of record to try the same within the country. 
Dated in Eastham June 30, 1696. The persons' names hereunto subscribed were 
subscribers to the original. Jonathan Paine, Thomas Paine, Stephen Snow, 
Caleb Hopkins, Ephraim Doane, John Savage and Israel Cole. Recorded June 
18, 1701. Thomas Paine, clerk to said proprietors. 

The original records have not been found, but previous 
records are hereafter made, indicating that no transcript 
was kept till after they moved to Pamet. 

The next record antedates the first seven years, and is the 
oldest reference of the proprietors to a purchase of land at 
Pamet. That these were not originally on their records, is 
evident by the order of entry. It will also be noticed that 
among these names are several that do not appear with that 
of 1696, "as subscribers to the original." A record of sev- 
eral divisions of upland and meadow settled by the propri- 
etors of the land belonging to Pamet, May 22, 1689: — 

The western boundary of these lots is the top of the cliff by the bay. The 
first and northerly lot is the lot of Ensign Jonathan Bangs on the southerly 
side of the pond, commonly called Eastern Harbor Pond. The second lot is 
the lot of William Twining, and is bounded on the northerly side by said Bangs. 



SETTLEMENT A T PAMET. 8 1 

The third lot is the lot of Constant Freeman, and is bounded on the northerly 
side by said Twining. The fourth lot is the lot of Israel Cole, and is bounded 
on the northerly side by said Freeman. The fifth lot is the lot of Thomas 
Paine, and is bounded on the northerly side by said Cole. The sixth lot is the 
lot of Thomas Clark, and is bounded on the northerly side by said Paine. The 
seventh lot is the lot of Lieut. Joseph Rogers, deceased, and is bounded on the 
northerly side by the lot of said Clark. The eighth lot is the lot of John Snow, 
and is bounded on the northerly side by the lot of said Rogers. The ninth lot 
is the lot of Thomas Paine, and is bounded on the northerly side by the lot of said 
John Snow. The tenth lot is the lot of Caleb Hopkins, and is bounded on the 
northerly side by the lot of Thomas Paine. 

An Eastham record of 1697, says "the settlers of Eastham 
made purchases of land of the Indians at Pamet, preparing 
for a settlement. The next and third record of the proprietors 
refers to the purchases. 

July 24, 1697. An agreement and final settlement of the bounds and ranges 
between the lands now possessed by the English, from Bound Brook to the fresh 
water ponds on the westerly side of Pamet and next Eastern Harbor ; and the 
land from said pond to the Eastern Harbor, which is as follows, viz: The de- 
scription is here given. 

A compact with the Indians, referring to drift fish, follows : 

And it is agreed upon, that the privilege of the shore belonging to the lands 
from the pond aforesaid, to Eastern Harbor, on both sides, referring to drift 
fish, shall be as formerly; that is to say, the English proprietors to have one eight 
part of all such fish, 

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands. 
Witnesses, Thomas Smith, ) The names of the persons underwritten were 
Thomas Paine Jr. > subscribers to the original. Attest, 

) THO: PAINE, Clerk. 

His 
Joshua x Anthony Jonathan Bancs 

Mark Constant Freeman 

David Peter Thomas Paine 

His Thomas Rogers 

Jedediah Y. His 

Mark Caleb x Hopkins 



His 



Mark 



Joseph * Touamaton t OH n Savage 

Mark Israel Cole 

Jeremy Anthony Jonathan Vickery 

His 
Ephraim S. (worn off) 
Mark 



82 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The records indicate that while the proprietors did not 
purchase all the land for sale by the Indians, they wished to 
control the same and to prevent individual members of the 
proprietors from purchasing on their own account. The 
above also throws some light on the "original." 

Some of the Indians who signed the above agreement 
claimed some connection of rights through John Quason, son 
of the Monomoiett Sagamore. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, February 4, 1694, Thomas Smith 
made a proposition to said proprietor concerning the difference that arose be- 
tween said proprietors and said Smith, about a parcel of land and meadow, 
which said Smith had bought, and had taken deeds for, of Joshua, Antony and 
Jeremy, wherein said Smith proffered said proprietors' money for their right of 
purchase ; whereupon it was concluded by said parties, that said Smith and said 
parties, should bid for said right, and he that should bid most for it should have 
it. 

Methods being agreed upon, the candle was lighted, and money bid, but said 
Smith outdid the proprietors, he bidding thirty pounds for said right, whereupon 
it was agreed that the instrument should be drawn against the next day — and 
the next day said proprietors met again and chose Lieut. Jonathan Paine and 
Israel Cole to be their agents, in their name and behalf to receive the money 
from, and give conveyance of said purchase right to Thomas Smith in the name 
and behalf of the whole proprietie. Attest, THO: PAINE. 

Clerk to said Proprietors. 

June 4, 1700, the proprietors made their first formal dec- 
laration on record, to remove to Pamet, by the following : — 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet lands June 4th 1700, it was agreed 
on that what land at Pamet might be conveniently divided, should be divided; 
and that they would go thither (God willing) on the last Monday of October 
next ensuing, and divide accordingly. At the same meeting it was agreed on 
and voted by said proprietors, that if the neighbors at Pamet or any of them 
will make a fence below Eastern Harbor Pond, sufficient to stop the sand and 
keep the tide out of said pond, they shall have five and twenty shillings for his 
or their pains. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At the same meeting, " the proprietors being deeply sensi- 
ble of the inconveniency of having many persons in their com- 
pany buying of lands of the Indians for inconsiderable pay to 
their great damage, for the preventing of the same did by 
their major vote nominate and appoint Thomas Paine their 



SETTLEMENT AT PAMET 83 

agent, to buy all such lands of the Indians as they shall be 
minded to sell." Full instructions were given their agent 
and money pledged as a fund. Mr. Paine served them in 
this capacity till May 15, 1705, when "he declared to the 
proprietors that he would no longer serve them as their 
agent about buying land of the Indians." 

The last record, June 4, 1700, was the last made by the 
proprietors previous to their removal to Pamet. There- 
after all records of the proprietors were duly recorded. 
Their first record as we have shown, is May 22, 1689. 

February 1, 1679, " Sampson," a Nauset Indian of some 
note, sold Pamet lands about Howe's Point, and Lo veil's 
Creek to the proprietors. 

Several of the names recorded are not again mentioned. 
From other sources, principally the Plymouth records, we 
learn that as early as 1670, Thomas Paine of Eastham, the 
water bayle, bought a large tract at Pamet of Governor 
Prince, lying between Bound Brook (Indian name Sapoanist) 
and Eastern Harbor, or Lovell's Creek, for which he paid 
twenty pounds. 

He made in 1673 another purchase, upland and meadow, of 
Jabez Howland, for fifteen pounds, all his right purchased or 
unpurchased in the same vicinity. All these lands he sold 
his son Thomas, March 30, 1690. 

It must not be understood, according to previous history, 
that the Eastham purchasers were the first English settlers 
at Pamet. With them began the regular form of municipal 
government, and from them we receive the first records. But 
from these records and a vast amount of direct and indirect 
history, it is evident enough that settlements were made long 
before this time, and in connection with the fisheries of Cape 
Cod before the settlement of Eastham or any others on the 
Cape. 

The local nomenclature, geography, and typography of 
both Cape Cod (Provincetown) and Pamet were well estab- 
lished at an early day substantially as now. The records of 
the proprietors are conclusive evidence on this point. They 
constantly refer to fences, roads, gates, try works, " try-house 



8 4 Truro— cape cod. 

lot," "the antient bounds," the old way where Mr. Gold's cellar 
was, to the neighbors, and many other things that denote a 
well-settled community. That the neighbors were not a few 
must be inferred from the record of June 4th, 1700: " That if 
the neighbors at Pamet, or any of them, will make a fence 
below Eastern Harbour Pond sufficient to. stop the sand and 
keep the tide out, they shall have five and twenty shillings 
for his or their pains." 

Who these neighbors were may be determined in part. All 
the names of the proprietors, or subscribers to the original, 
are given. Also all that thereafter, by purchase or otherwise, 
were allowed citizens, or admitted as inhabitants, etc. All 
well-known inhabitants, or citizens, not thus mentioned must 
have been the old neighbors. 

Jedediah Lombard, who owned the " great lot " often 
referred to, Thomas Lombard, Dr. William Dyer, Benjamin 
Smalley, Thomas Newcomb, Isaac Snow, Jonathan Collins 
and Nathaniel Harding, were among this number that we 
readily recall. These names, as a rule, were not from East- 
ham, but from Barnstable, another evidence that they were 
not associated with the proprietors. We have no way of 
telling how long these people had been there. In the history 
of the Newcomb family, it will be seen that Captain Thomas 
Lombard moved to Truro in 1699, but others had been there 
many years. Reverend Jeremiah Cushing, graduate of Har- 
vard College, 1676, was a minister at Cape Cod for several 
years before 1700. Son Ezekiel born there 1698. The last 
item proves that Provincetown was of sufficient importance 
to sustain a learned minister with a family before the East- 
ham settlers moved to Pamet. 

An old record says : " Cape Cod was at this time a great 
resort, and the residence of not a few engaged in mercantile 
adventures at an early period." The existence of substantial 
buildings and other indications of enterprise are often referred 
to. It continued to be called "Cape Cod," more generally 
"The Cape," by the elderly people in Truro within the writer's 
remembrance. 

The fishing points all along the coast were the resort of a 



S£ TTLEMEN1 ' A T FAME T. 85 

wild, undisciplined and unprincipled crew of traders an .1 fish- 
ermen from nearly all parts of Europe. Drinking, gambling, 
and bacchanalian carousals, were continued sometimes for 
weeks with unrestrained license. They were the Poker Flats 
of that day. 

Governor Hinckley says : " The ungovernable appetite of 
the Indians for strong drink was a great hindrance to their 
improvement. The laws regulating the sale of liquors within 
colonial limits were disregarded by the covetous English when 
it was possible for them to do so. There was no place so well 
suited these lawless fellows to carry on their unlawful 
traffic, as the head of the Cape, called by the settlers " Cape 
Cod." It was a place of resort for the fishermen from the set- 
tlements on the coast, and a large supply of liquors was brought 
by them, ostensibly for use in the prosecution of their busi- 
ness. The Indians were not backward in trading with them, 
and it is probable many of them gave away their last articles 
of commodity to satisfy their appetite. 

" When they had nothing to give, they did not consider it 
out of place to obtain their liquor by stealth. Before the Court 
at Plymouth, 1667, were Simon, Monchase, and Assooat, for 
going on board the boat of Simon Stevens at Cape Cod, and 
taking away a cask of liquor, and having a hand in embezzling 
and spending the same. They were ordered to be whipped at 
the post at Plymouth, which was done accordingly. The 
great obstruction to the younger generation becoming civilized 
was the great appetite for strong drink, and the covetous evil 
humour of sundry of the English in furnishing them there- 
with, notwithstanding all the court orders and the means used 
to prohibit the same." 

The Indians seem to have a born love for rum. Mr. Stone, 
the settled preacher at Provincetown, used often to preach to 
the Mashpees, who were quite devotional. One of the deacons 
was asked how he liked Mr. Stone. He said : "Mr. Stone 
one very good preacher, but he preach too much about rum. 
When he no preach about rum, Injun think nothing 'bout it; 
but when he tells how Injun love rum, and how much they 
drunk, then I think how good it is, and think no more 'bout 



86 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

the sermon, my mouth waters all the time so much for rum." 
When asked whether he liked Mr. Stone or blind Joe (a 
Baptist minister) best, he said : " Mr. Stone, he make best 
sermons, but blind Joe he make best Christians." 

There is no intervening record of the proprietors preserved 
between the fourth of June (1700) and their removal to Pamet, 
nor of their removal ; but that they were there nearly thirty 
days before the specified time is assured by the following 
record : 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet lands on October 3, 1700, said proprie- 
tors taking into serious consideration the great inconveniency that doth and yet may 
further accrue to the inhabitants of Pamet, by reason of their living so remote 
from the place of the public worship of God, and also having a desire to have the 
name of God preached in this remote place (according to the rules of the Gospel) 
as soon as it will please God to open a way for the same, and also knowing that 
whatever person shall be employed in that good work must be accommodated 
and supported for a considerable substance here, Have therefor for that purpose 
laid out a parcel of upland at the back side of said Pamet, at a place commonly 
called Tashmuit, alias Clay Pounds, containing thirty and four acres, be it more 
or less, bounded viz. (Here follows the description.) Only a highway four poles 
wide is to go through across the land at the best watering place at Tashmuit, where 
it may be most convenient for watering and least damage to the land. This 
above said tract of land is by the above said proprietors of Pamet preserved for 
the use of the ministry of Pamet, or to be exchanged for other land there that 
may be more convenient, for the use aforesaid, to be kept and preserved for the 
use of the ministry forever. Voted by the said proprietors October 31, 1700. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

The eastern boundary of this lot was 561 feet by the bank, and 2871 feet 
(more than half a mile) east and west. 

The first record found after their settlement makes provis- 
ion for the support of a minister. Scarcely are their own 
tents pitched when the public worship of God receives atten- 
tion. Great regard was paid by these new settlers to a min- 
ister ; but it must be remembered that the settling of a 
minister was the most important and responsible question 
they had to meet. The following will illustrate these serious 
obligations At a meeting at Star Island, alias Gosport, Isle 
of Shoals (1732), voted: 

That the thirteenth day of July next be observed as a day of fasting and prayei 
to beg God's blessing on the affair of settling a minister among us. 



S£ TTLEMENT A T PAMET. 87 

It may also be proper to state that this church at Star 
Island was at this time regarded as the most desirable, and 
the salary among the most valuable in New England. The 
salary of Mr. Tucke was paid him in merchantable winter fish, 
a quintal a man. There were from eighty to one hundred 
families then on these islands ; a quintal of fish was estimated 
at a guinea. Every man a guinea. While his men toiled for 
fish, he fished for men and guineas. 

Whatever may be said of their doctrine, they clearly recog- 
nized certain obligations on their own part, and did not mean 
to be found behind in the part of their cooperation with 
Providence. "To have the name of God preached as soon as 
it will please God to open the way, and also knowing that 
whatever person shall be employed in that good work must be 
accommodated and supported," they preached and practised. 
A more prompt, liberal, appreciative sense of duty, depend- 
ence and responsibility, with a lofty conscientious faith that 
God would meet their efforts and open the way, can scarcely 
be found in Puritan records. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, October 31, 1700, said proprietors 
made choice of Israel Cole, Constant Freeman, and Thomas Paine junior, for a 
committee to lay out six acres of meadow at Eastern Harbour, for the use of the 
ministry where they shall judge it most convenient; and also to survey and lay 
out all such uplands and meadows as they shall judge convenient within said 
propertie. As also to exchange part of Jedediah Lumbert's great lot, for land 
on the south side of the great river. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, February 6, 1701, Nathaniel 
Atkins and Francis Small were by the major vote of the proprietors admitted to 
the privilege of the stated commons at Pamet, provided they buy land there and 
settle themselves upon it. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At the same meeting Lieutenant Jonathan Bangs, Thomas Paine Jr., and 
Constant Freeman were chosen a committee, or agents, to sell lands in behalf of 
the proprietors, and give deeds of seal of the same. The products of said lands 
to be divided amongst the proprietors according to every man's right. From 
this vote Israel Cole and John Rogers dissented. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet land, February 16, 1701, said pro- 
prietors agree that the seventeen acres of land that they are to have of Thomas 
Lumbert (being part of Lumbert's great lot) should be given to Mr. Nathaniel 
Eells for his encouragement to settle at Pamet (to preach the Gospel to ye peo- 



88 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

pie there), and that upon his settlement in order to a continuance there in that 
work ; to have it for his own, and his heirs or assigns forever. Or if he, ye 
said Eells, should not come there upon that account, then said land should be 
reserved for any other able orthodox minister that shall be there settled upon the 
account aforesaid. But in case said Lumbert should not go through with his 
designe of exchanging his lot as aforesaid, that then the said Eells, or other min- 
ister as aforesaid, should have such a quantity of land laid out on any of the 
common or undivided lands at Pamet, where may be most convenient, together 
with five acres of meadow at Eastern Harbour, where it may be most convenient 
to said land; as also privilege for fire-wood, timber, fencing, and herbage (to be 
used in said Pamet), upon all such lands as from time to time shall lay undivided 
within said proprietie. Voted by said proprietors. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet lands, February 16, 1701, it was 
agreed upon and voted by said proprietors that all the undivided lands from a 
quarter of a mile to the northward of the head of Pamet meadow, so ranging 
down westerly, the same distance from said Pamet meadow, a mile and a halt 
from the back side, and from thence extending northerly the same distance, at 
a mile and half from the back side into the woods, until it comes to the head of 
the southeast arme of Eastern Harbour meadow, and from thence to running 
clown west into the woods a mile and half as above said, should lay for a perpet- 
ual commonage forever, for all such as shall from time to time be admitted as 
inhabitants by the major part of said proprietors, their voices to be accounted 
according to their proprietie, which land shall never be divided or disposed of 
to any man's or men's own particular use. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

Israel Cole did not consent to the above said vote. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 17, 1701, said proprietors made 
choice of Constant Freeman and Benjamin Smalley to look after all such men af 
shall come from other parts to fetch hay from their meadows at Eastern Harbour 
and to make them pay six shillings a sloop-load, or equivalent thereto, for said 
hay, which money shall be improved for the support of the ministrie at Pamet; 
and also to look after all such persons as shall set up Whale houses, or other 
houses upon any of the common or undivided lands belonging to Pamet ; or that 
shall cut wood or timber upon the same, or any part or parcel thereof ; and to 
agree with them, or any one of them, for the term of their voyages, as they shall 
see meet, not for less than one shilling a man ; or otherwise to warn them to 
depart off from said land. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

The early settlement and faithful support of a learned 
ministry, was a bold feature in New England history. 

The stamp of the ministry upon the people was well de- 
fined. None will hesitate to allow that the ministry tinted 
the rugged New England character with its finest shadings. 

It was a mysterious Providence, a miraculous accident that 



SJi TTLEMENT A T FAME T. 89 

educated and carefully trained so many men in the best of 
English universities, to mould and shape a mighty empire 
in the New World. Men who cheerfully, earnestly and unsel- 
fishly, to the last days of their lives, shared in all the sufferings 
and deprivations of these pioneers of the wilderness, without 
draggling their sacred robes. 

It was an object of high emulation, as well as of religious principle with the 
early Congregational Church, to be supplied with an educated ministry. And 
such without exception they were. Those pastors who having been silenced in 
England, came hither to minister to the little flocks in the wilderness. — Dean. 

We need not be surprised that this also became a matter 
of legislation. So in 1670, " Every town was required to be 
constantly provided with an able, learned, and orthodox 
minister, or ministers of good conversation, to dispense the 
word of God. To be suitably encouraged and sufficiently 
maintained, by the inhabitants, and in case of neglect longer 
than six months, a competent allowance for such minister 
according to the estate and ability of the town shall be made 
and the town assessed for the same. 

For some reason unknown, Mr. Nathaniel Eells, the first 
honored by the young church at Pamet to be their minister, 
did not accept. In Dean's History of Scituate, 1831, we learn 
that he was the son of Samuel Eells of Hingham, born 1678, 
graduate Harvard College 1699. 1704 he was ordained over 
the Church and Society of Scituate at £ 65 per annum, after 
negotiations commenced January 12, 1702; a longer time 
than the average services of his successors, but the work was 
then for life, and they could afford to hasten slowly. His 
wife was Hannah North, of Hingham, a relative of the Prime 
Minister. When she would say, " It is wonderful that so 
good a man as my husband should have such wayward chil- 
dren, " he would answer, " True, and you seem to be sensible 
that th 1 mischief all lies on the North side of the house. " 
We judge this was family pleasantry, as two sons were 
graduates of Harvard College, settled in the ministry, and 
the family of five sons and four daughters were all well settled 
in life. Mr. Eells was a man of great influence and authority 



9 o TRURO — CAPE COD. 

among his people and greatly beloved. They were always 
glad to see him as he rode up to have his pipe lighted. 

He was a violent opposer of the "New Lights," and of 
Whitefield, whom he refused to his pulpit ; opposed itinerating, 
and wrote a pamphlet to defend his course. 

The uncharitableness or sectarianism of Mr. Eells can 
scarcely be regarded a stain on so fair a record, regarded in 
the spirit of his time. Rev. Enoch Pratt, in his Hi'.tory of 
Eastkam, gives the " Declaration " of the ministers of Barn- 
stable County against this high innovation. 

" Itinerant preaching tends to destroy the usefulness of 
ministers among their people, in places where the Gospel is 
settled and faithfully preached in its purity ; and that it 
promotes strife and contention, a censorious and uncharitable 
spirit, and those numerous schisms and separations which 
have already destroyed the peace and unity, and at the same 
time threaten the subversion of many churches. " 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet lands, June 15, 1703, the said pro- 
prietors made choice of Jedediah Lumbert Jr., John Snow, and Thomas Paine, 
for a committee, in the name and behalf of said proprietors, to run the ranges 
between all the great lots (so-called) at Pamet, and to erect and set up bounds at 
the heads of the same according as the records of these lands do direct. And to 
cause the same to be recorded in Pamet books of record ; as also to lay out 
about thirteen acres of upland at the head of the swamp that goes up from the 
pond, as near the head of Lumbert's great lot as may be convenient, and to make 
entry thereof, which with the bounds, thirteen acres of land, is ordered by said 
proprietors to be reserved for the use of such minister as shall first be settled at 
Pamet in the work of the ministrie : as also to lay out and bound a drift highway 
from the northeast corner of the swamp at the wood, to the head of Pamet, in 
such place and manner as they shall judge most convenient, and the clerk to 
record the same. 

At a meeting of the proprietors, June 15, 1703, it was agreed on and voted by 
the proprietors of Pamet, that John Steel might have ten acres of upland, and 
about four acres of meadow, for a reasonable price for money, the upland to be 
somewhere between the Pond and Anthony's Bottom, and the meadow to be 
beyond Eastern Harbour. A committee was appointed to agree with said 
Steel about the price of said land and meadow. At the same meeting John Steel 
was admitted and allowed inhabitant of Pamet by the proprietors thereof. 

At this time " Longnook " is mentioned in the records as 
being the boundary of land deeded Thomas Paine, proving 
this another of the old names at least pre-proprietary. 



SE TTLEMENT A T PAME T. 9 1 

A record of the Drift Highway laid out from the northeast corner of the 
swamp, at the head of the Pond to the Head of Pamet, by Jedediah Lumbert Jr., 
John Snow, and Thomas Paine, by order of proprietors of Pamet at their meet- 
ing, on the fifteenth day of June, 1703, which was laid out on the third day of 
July, 1703, which is as followeth, beginning at the northeast corner of the swamp 
at the head of the Pond by Jedediah Lumbert's, and from thence running up 
between the bound of Lieutenant Bangs' great lot, and Joseph Young's land, and j 
and so down between Joseph Young's land and the swamp, and so along as the 1 
Old way runneth to a white oak-tree marked, which is the southwest corner 
bound of the thirteen acres of land laid out for a minister, and then it turneth up 
the valley along by the south side of the above said thirteen-acre lot, till it comes 
nigh the southeast corner of it, and then it turneth away south by marked trees 
across the valley, and so uphill in an ascending valley to the top of the hill, and 
so the highway runneth over the plain nearest southeast by marked trees, into 
the valley that goeth out of the Great Hollow toward Tashmuit, and so over said 
valley along by marked trees something more southerly to the Great Hollow ; 
and so over the Great Hollow southerly by marked trees to the Old way, com- 
monly called Savage's Way; and so along said Old way till it comes against 
Thomas Paine's land where he now lives; and then said way turneth to the right 
hand by marked trees over the hill to land nigh the southeast corner of said 
Paine's land, and then it turns away to the eastward, up the side of the hill, and 
so across the neck by marked trees to the head of a little valley that comes up 
from said Paine's meadow, and so down said valley to the Old way, and so along 
the Old way by the side of said Paine's meadow to the head of it, and so up east- 
erly about twenty pole up the valley ; and then the way turneth away southerly 
over into the next valley, and so up along the second valley near half a mile ; 
and then it turneth up the hill to the right hand, by marked trees into another 
valley, and so on up easterly along said valley, till it comes nigh the head of it ; 
then over the woods by marked trees nearest southeast to the cassiway, where 
the Old way went over the swamp at the corner of the meadow, and so along the 
Old way to the range of the house lot of John Snow deceased ; and so along the 
range of said lot to the Old way at the head of the lot, and so up along as the 
Old way went to the head of Pamet. Entered. THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

With the valuable assistance of Barnabas Paine, who 
esteems an old bound as sacred as did Old Mortality the 
tombstones of the Scottish Covenantors, we have been able to 
make out nearly every point mentioned in the above descrip- 
tion of the " Drift Highway." 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 17, 1703, granted by said pro- 
prietors to Joseph Young, libertie to buy of David Peter four acres of sedge 
meadow on northeast side of Eastern Harbour to the northward of the Captain's 
Island. Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

Whereas at the time of laying out the lots of upland at the place called Tash- 
muit, it was agreed upon by the proprietors thereof, that there should be a high' 



9 2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

way laid out through all the said lots by the best watering place, as by ye record 
of said lands may more largely appear, which highway hath not yet been laid 
out. Therefore, at meeting of proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, said prop- 
prietors did make .choice of Thomas Paine, Constant Freeman, and John Snow, 
for a committee to lay out and bound said highway, according to the directions 
given in the aforesaid record. 

Voted by the proprietors of Pamet, at their meeting at Pamet, June 15, 
i 7 o 3 . Attest, THO: PAINE Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 17, 1703, said proprietors agreed 
with Thomas Mulford, that for the consideration of seven pounds current money 
of New England, said Mulford should have one ninth part of all the common or 
undivided land between the bounds of Eastham and the south side of the great 
meadow at Pamet, excepting John and Israel Cole's part (which is one sixteenth 
part) and that upon receipt of the above said sum of seven pounds, the clerk of 
said company should record the above said land, to said Mulford and his heirs 
and assigns forever ; and it was also agreed on by the parties above said, that 
whenever John and Israel Cole's part of the above said land should be excepted, 
so also their part of the above said seven pounds should be abated. 

At the same meeting the above said Thomas Mulford was excepted an 
allowed inhabitant of Pamet by the above said proprietors. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 17, 1703, granted by said 
proprietors to John Snow, libertie to fence up the highway (that goeth through 
his grass above and below), provided he keep up and maintain easie and 
sufficient gates for horses and carts to pass at all times, as they have occasion. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

As a previous record refers to John Snow deceased, the 
above must have been his son. 

Jedediah Lombard senior, hath taken up ten acres of land, which is his full 
proportion for one third of a share. It lyeth betwixt the land of Thomas Mul- 
ford, next Hog's Back, and the land of Thomas Mulford next to the Pond, on 
the southerly side of Pamet great River. 

Recorded, Feb. 9, 1703. 

The above record settles beyond controversy that "H.og's 
Back " is an old name. There has been a tradition quite 
generally accepted that it was named by British sailors dur- 
ing the Revolutionary War. There is a peculiarly shaped 
hill in that part of the town near the shore, which was then 
covered with a ridge of pine-trees. The real or fancied 
resemblance of these trees along the crest of the hill, sug- 



SE TTLEMENT A T FAME T. 93 

gested the contour and bristling equipage of the Porcine in 
question. So the Britishers said Hog's Back. 

But the record of Thomas Paine of 1703 spoils this tradi- 
tion and leaves us still ignorant whom to honor. It also 
establishes very nearly the location of the bona fide historical 
eminence. There is no doubt it was named from this local 
resemblance, probably by the English fishermen at an early 
day, and as the record indicates, was first used in its strict local 
sense, but for nearly a hundred years it has embraced the 
whole south part of the town. There was a time when the 
term " Hogsbacker " was resented, but the thrift, enterprise 
and independence of the people at a later date, made them 
proud of the distinction. The following affidavit twenty or 
more years later, is further proof if needed, that the name 
was well understood and honored. 



December 7th, 1725 : — The declaration of John Lewis of Barnstable. I, being 
at sea near at a place called Hogg's Back, with the boat's company, I then and 
there struck and wounded a whale fish, she lying soothing under water, I (can't 
make the word) — My iron took her upon the rising of her bulge, but she draw- 
ing my iron made play, and was soon struck and wounded by James Bearse, and 
after awhile drawing his iron, she still making good play, was in a few moments 
struck by Thomas Thatcher, and they and we soon killed said whale. 

JOHN LEWIS. 
Attest, John Snow. Toivn Clerk. 

December 7th, 1725: — I, the subscriber, being at sea near a place called 
Hogg's Back, with my company, I saw John Lewis striKe a whale fish, she draw- 
ing his iron. I soon after struck my iron into said whaie upon or near the rising 
of her bulge and held to her a considerable time, and afterwards she d rawed my 
iron but still made good play, and in a few minutes was struck by Thomas 
Thatcher, and they and we soon killed the whale. 

JAMES BEARSE. 
Attest, John Snow. Town Clerk. 

Taken up ye seventh of December, 1722, on Truro Shore, near Hog's Back, 
by Aquilla Rich, son to widow Bethiah Rich, a large canoe. Entered with me 
December 25th, 1725. JOHN SNOW. Town Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet lands, July 21, 1703, said proprietors 
made choice of Thomas Paine and Constant Freeman to be their agents (in their 
name and behalf) to settle the bounds of the twelve acres of land which they 
bought of Pepen (with David, Peter, Jediah, and Joseph Tonomatuk) and in 



94 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

case the said David, Peter, Jediah, and Joseph Tonomatuk refuse to do the 
same, to sue them for a settlement thereof, in the name and behalf of the said 
proprietors, as also to run the range with said Indians from the stone by the 
ditch on the hill on the south side of Moonpoon valley, to the head of Eastern 
Harbor Marsh ; as also to divide the land with Jediah ; that lyeth between the 
lots at the pond and Moonpoon. alias Anthony's Bottom ; the charge of writing 
by all the above said particulars to be paid by the above said proprietors. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

Voted. At the same meeting, that Thomas Paine should, as agent to the 
proprietors of Pamet, in their name and behalf, act and do in all particulars 
what is yet to be done, about finishing the bargain with Thomas Lumbert, 
referring to said Lumbert's changing his part of the Lumbert's great lot and 
whatsoever said Paine shall do or cause to be done, respecting the premises, 
said proprietors do hereby ratine and confirm, as if done by themslves. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

Whereas, the proprietors of Pamet lands did formerly set out for a perpetual 
Commonage a tract of land on the back side of said Pamet, extending from the 
back side a mile and a half westerly into the woods, the true intent and meaning 
of which act was that said Commonage should include about half the breadth 
of the neck, but the land being now measured, is found to be but two mile and 
half wide from sea to sea, at PametHarbor ; and but about two miles wide at the 
Pond, commonly called Eastern Harbor Pond, which is at least half a mile less 
than was expected, by which means the said Commonage proves prejudicial to 
the proprietors ; for the prevention whereof the said proprietors did at a meet- 
ing at Pamet, July 21, 1703, unanimously agree, and vote, that from the time to 
come, and forever hereafter, the above said Commonage should extend but one 
mile and a quarter into the woods westward from the back side, anything in the 
former act to the company notwithstanding, that being by the proprietors con- 
strued to be the true intent and meaning of the above said act. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, Abigail Steel, the 
wife of John Steel, late of said Pamet, petitioned the said proprietors that they 
would be pleased to consider the circumstances of her sorrowful condition (her 
husband being absented from her and left her in a very low condition), and that 
they would hire her the land where she now lives (that was fenced in by her 
husband) for a reasonable sum of money yearly. Pursuant whereunto said pro- 
prietors have confidence thereof, and grant that said Abigail Steel shall have 
the use and improvement of the above said lands during their pleasure for three 
shillings money per annum, to be paid yearly to Thomas Paine their Clerk for 
the use of said proprietors. Voted by said proprietors. 

Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, it was agreed upon 
and voted by said proprietors that the seventeen acres of upland that they are 
to have in Lumbert's great lot, and the thirteen acres of upland at the head 



SETTLEMENT AT PAMET. 95 

r>f the Pond swamp, together with six acres of meadow to be laid out on the 
northeasterly side of Eastern Harbor, shall be for the use and improvement of 
the first orthodox minister, that shall be orderly settled in the work of the 
nranistry at said Pamet during the time of his continuing in the work of the min- 
istry there ; and in case he shall then continue in the work of the ministry, until 
by reason of age he shall be disenabled from performing the work of a minister; 
that then the above said land shall be his own and his heirs and assigns forever, 
anything to the contrary before-mentioned notwithstanding. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, said proprietors made 
choice of Constant Freeman, John Snow and Thomas Paine, for a committee to 
lay out and bound six acres of meadow, at the head of the southeast arm of 
Eastern Harbor meadow, for the use of the ministry at Pamet ; and to bound 
and record the same. As also to lay out six acres of meadow for the minister 
on the northeast side of said Eastern Harbor, in the sedge meadow, and to 
bound and record the same with the other lands granted for that use. Voted by 
said proprietors. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, granted by said pro- 
prietors unto Mr. Theophilus Cotton, to him, his assigns and heirs forever, a 
parcel of upland and swamp, containing about five acres, be it more or less, lying 
at the head of the Pond swamp in Pamet. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, granted by said pro- 
prietors to Mr. Theophilus Cotton, one ninth part of the privilege of the shore, 
referring to drift-fish within the proprietie of Pamet during the time of his living 
in Pamet. Voted by said proprietors. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

At the same meeting, granted to Mr. Theophilus Cotton, to him, his heirs and 
assigns forever, about two acres of upland and swamp at the head of the Pond 
swamp from the ditch at the end next to Joseph Young's, and from thence 
southerly as far as (the intervening word torn or worn off) with conveniency. 
Thomas Paine, Constant Freeman and John Snow were appointed to lay out 
and bound the same. Voted by said proprietors. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At the same meeting Mr. Theophilus Cotton was admitted an allowed inhabi- 
tant of Pamet provided he settleth in the work of the ministry at said Pamet; 
and also that whensoever the commons of Pamet shall be stinted, said Mr. 
Cotton shall have as good a privilege there as any other one man provided he 
be settled as aforesaid. Voted. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

As the above are the first and last references to Mr. 
Cotton, other papers both before and after must be among 
the lost. It would now be regarded a great treasure could 
all the missing papers covering correspondence, etc., be found. 



96 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Rev. Theophilus Cotton settled at Hampton Falls, Mass. ; he 
was a brother to Rev. Roland of Sandwich and Rev. John, of 
Yarmouth, sons of Rev. John of Plymouth, and grandsons of 
the original John Cotton of Boston. 

Whereas there is likely to be great damage done to the proprietors of Pamet, 
by reason of some persons digging shells out of the land belonging to these 
proprietie, and selling or transporting them off from said land, which otherwise 
might be of good use to the inhabitants to make lime for their building, for pre- 
venting whereof it is ordered and agreed upon by the proprietors of Pamet at a 
meeting of said proprietors held at Pamet, May 15, 1705. That from and after 
the first day of June next ensuing, no person or persons whatsoever shall digg 
any shells out of any of the common or undivided land belonging to said pro- 
prietie, or take any shells off from any of the common or undivided land 
belonging to any part of said proprietors, but only such as shall be voted by the 
inhabitants of Pamet within the Courts of said proprietie, in penalty of five and 
sixpence a bushel for every bushel of shells so digged or carried off from said 
proprietie for the use of him or them that shall inform and sue for the same 
before any Court of Record proper to try the same. 

Voted by said proprietors, May 15, 1705. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

As is known, the New England Indians lived principally 
on fish, particularly shell fish. Their villages were dry, 
sunny, sheltered situations, convenient to the shores. For 
hundreds of years they deposited their shells and bones in 
the same place, producing the vast shell banks or beds, 
which at that time could be readily transported. Doubtless 
the fishermen had also left large deposits, as the English and 
colonial fleet had supplied themselves with bait from the 
Cape shores before the days of Dermer. 

I have examined a shell bed bordering a swamp, on land of 
Joshua Knowles, not far from Great Hollow. It is, perhaps, 
a half-acre in extent, several feet deep, covered by a solid, 
rich, emerald sward nearly the whole year. The shells are 
great and soft clams, quahaug, scallop, oyster, razor, cockle, 
and fragments of deer bones. Arrow-heads are often found. 
Oysters must have been abundant, as they predominate. 
The slow waste of the lime, mixing with the decomposition 
of bones, has produced a soil rich and hot as guano, that 
might be, it would seem, used to advantage as a fertilizer. 



SETTLEMENT AT PAMET. 97 

\t .1 meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, Hezekiah Doane and 
Samuel Treat, Jr. were admitted allowed inhabitants of said Pamet. 
Voted by the proprietors. Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk 

Samuel Treat Jr. was the son of Rev. Samuel Treat, 
the regular and ordained minister at Eastham, to whom we 
have referred for his Christian and humane labors among the 
Indians at Pamet. He was the son of Governor Robert 
Treat of Connecticut, and the eldest of twenty-one children. 
Graduated at Harvard College, 1669. Settled in Eastham, 
1672. Married first, Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. John Mayo, 
of Boston, who had formerly preached in Eastham, by whom 
were born eleven children. Married second, Mrs. Easta- 
brook, daughter of Rev. Samuel Willard, of Boston, by whom 
three children. Daughter Eunice, by this marriage, was, the 
mother of Robert Treat Paine, the patriot of the Revolution, 
and signer of the Declaration of Independence, — a name that 
has been continued to the present day by an honorable line 
of worthy descendants. Mr. Treat was a Calvinist, primi- 
tive and pure, of the strictest order. His was the consistent, 
irrevocably decreed Calvinism, with all its jagged lines and 
bottomless chasms, which he forcibly, ably and constantly 
preached and defended. The following extract from one of 
his sermons is said to be a fair average of his style, and an 
honor to his sincere faith : " Consider God himself shall be 
the principal agent in thy misery. His is that consuming 
fire ; his breath is the bellows which blows up the flame of 
hell forever; he is the damning fire — the everlasting burn- 
ing; and if he punish thee, if he meet thee in his fury, he 
will not meet thee as a man, he will give thee an omnipotent 
blow." 

He preached long, and so loud that he could be heard a 
great distance from the meeting-house ; even above the howl- 
ing winds of the Eastham plains. He was a good and faithful 
minister, and had many "awakenings" under his powerful 
preaching. He died March 18, 17 16, during a great snow 
storm, known in the annals of New England as the " Great 
Snow." He could not be buried till the snow banks were 



98 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

tunnelled a quarter of a mile. His body was borne to the 
grave by the Indians, who sincerely mourned the loss of their 
beloved pastor and never-failing friend. Mr. Treat had taken 
a spiritual and temporal oversight of the Indians, studied 
their language, could write and preach to them in their 
native tongue. It was through his influence that Mr. 
Richard Bourne of Sandwich entered upon this work with 
such marked success. From the town records : 

Whereas at the time of laying out the lots of upland at the place called Tash- 
muit, it was agreed upon by the proprietors thereof, that there should be a high- 
way laid out through all the said lots by the best watering place, as by ye 
record of said lands may more largely appear, which highway hath not been laid 
uut. Therefore at a meeting of proprietors of Pamet, May 15, 1705, said pro- 
prietors did make choice of Thomas Paine, Constant Freeman and John Snow 
for a committee to lay out and bound said highway according to the direction 
given in the aforesaid record. 

Voted by the proprietors of Pamet, at their meeting in Pamet, June 15, 1705. 

Attest, THO: PAINE, Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 16, 1707, Hezekiah Purington 
was an admitted inhabitant by the major vote of said proprietors. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet, June 16, 1707. Granted by said 
proprietors to Isaac Snow, Jonathan Collins, and Nathaniel Harding, or to any 
or either of them, liberty to fence across from the Head of Pamet great meadow 
to the back sea, and again from said Isaap Snow's land, by his new dwelling- 
house to the Pond, and again from the northeast corner of said Pond to the back 
sea, and to have the improvement of all the land within said fence for seven 
years next. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 

The reader has not failed to observe that the first proprie- 
tors were good business men with creditable pretentions to 
an English education as then understood. Thomas Paine, 
the first clerk of the Pamet proprietors, was a model secretary. 
His penmanship is to-day clear, full, and almost plain as 
print ; his rhetoric good standard English, grammar unexcep- 
tionable, and his whole record is finished and scholarly. 

We have quoted quite freely from the first entries, 
particularly from 1703, which are quite full. Hereafter we 
shall be content to give the more important transactions, 
leaving purchases, boundaries, and all matters of general 



SETTLEMENT AT PAMET. 99 

sameness and repetition, as of little historic value or interest. 
No small proportion of the original records are evidently 
missing. Not till within fifty years has the town provided 
safes. During the wear and tear of nearly one hundred and 
fifty years, many books were undoubtedly lost or worn out, 
and others so badly worn they could not be copied. This 
will explain many gaps, particularly as referring to the change 
of the name of the town. 

Referring to valuable papers, a transaction has come before 
me since engaged in this history, that perhaps had better be 
told in this connectiou. Information was sent me at the 
West that a man living in Massachusetts had in his possession 
the original Charter of Truro, which he would sell. Through 
correspondence, I learned that the date of his document was 
1757. Satisfied from this fact it was not what he had stated, 
I still had a curiosity to know more about it, but could not 
bring my party to terms. I finally wrote that after a certain 
date I would no longer entertain any proposition. Shortly 
after, two middle-aged men presented themselves, saying they 
had brought the paper, and handed me rolled up in an old 
torn newspaper, a yellow-stained, wrinkled parchment, nearly 
as large and stiff as a cowhide. Catching first a glance at 
the signature, I saw the name of Governor Bernard, and the 
Royal Seal of the Massachusetts Bay. After reading a mo- 
ment, I said to the men, " Don't you know that this is the 
Charter of Truro, Nova Scotia? " "No, it is Massachusetts 
Bay, " they replied. I then explained to them what they did 
not know, and they retired wiser than they came. 

This was indeed the genuine charter of the town of Truro, 
Nova Scotia — the real sheepskin of the old colonial pattern, 
with the fifty incorporators twice named, and all the verbiage 
and clerical illumination that distinguished the Massachusetts 
Bay State documents under Georgeus Secundus. 



CHAPTER VI. 
PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 

Last Officers of Pamet. Purchases of Indians. Waste of Forests. Cattle Owners. 
The first Windmill. Crows and Blackbirds. Antient Bounds. Fat Office. Fencing 
the Wolves. Cape Cod Canal. George Washington. The first Suez Canal. The 
Path to India. The Dream of Europe. Province Lands. Precinct of Cape Cod. 
Boundaries. Sojourners. 1717 — Missionary Enterprise — 1877. Incorporation of 
Provincetown. Precarious Existence. Rehabilitation. Lands a Begging. Whale 
and Whaling. The Lydia and Sophia. Oily Flavor. Dr. Freeman in 1794. 
Burke's Argumentum Piscatorium. Cape Cod Schoolmasters. Richard Paine. Rev. 
Levi Whitman. Fighting Whale. The Bible Captain. Globiceph Alus Melas. 
Daniel Rich's Morning Spurt. Captain Henry Atkins. The Ship Whale. 

AT the last March meeting in 1709, previous to the 
incorporation of the new town, the following officers 
were elected : 

Thomas Paine, town clerk; Benj. Small, Humphrey Scammon and Isaac 
Snow, selectmen; Thomas Lumbert, constable ; Edward Cowell, tythingman ; 

Josias Cook, grand juryman ; — , town treasurer ; Beriah Smith and 

Nathaniel Harding, fence viewers; Thos. Mulford, Jedediah Lumbard and 
John Snow, surveyors of highways. Voted, that the town treasurer be allowed 
fourpence upon the pound for receiving and paying out the money. 

In 1 7 10, Richard Stevens was admitted by the proprietors, and they made 
arrangements for exchange of land with Daniel Sam, Indian. Also appointed 
Jedediah Lumbert and Thomas Paine agents to buy lands of the Indians in the 
township of Truro, when, and so often as any of said Indians shall see fit to 
sell, and that none others buy. In 1712 at a proprietors' meeting Feby. 28th, it 
was decided to give Jo Tomamatuk his demand of thirty shillings to quit his 
claim to land which Jeremy Anthony, Jediah John, and David Peter, Indians, 
sold to Nath'l Atkins. It was also further ordered that this regulation, and that 
against cutting wood and timber, be presented to the Court of the General Ses- 
sions of the Peace, for their approbation. 

100 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 101 

Whereas, there has been great destruction and waste made of fire-wood within 
the town of Truro, by cutting wood to burn lime with, to be transported out of said 
Truro, which will in a short time cause a scarcity of fire-wood in said town, if 
not timely prevented ; it was ordered that no person or persons whatever, shall 
at any time hereafter, cut any wood off from any part of any of the common or 
undivided land within the township of the said Truro, to burn anv lime with all, 
other than to be used in said Town. 

February 24, 1711. THO : PAINE. Clerk 

At this time all the owners of cattle in Truro were Ebene- 
zer Doane, William Dyer Sr., Jonathan Collins, Jeremy Bick- 
ford, Josias Cook, Jedediah Lumbert, Jonathan Vickery, Con- 
stant Freeman, Samuel Treat, John Snow, Thomas Lumbert, 
Hezekiah Purington, Thomas Rogers, Benjamin Smalley, 
Richard Webber, Thomas Smith, Daniel Smalley, Christo- 
pher Stewart, George Stewart and William Clark. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro convened and held Aug. 13, 171 1, ordered by 
said town that Tho. Paine should have for money by him disburst about getting 
a township for the town of Truro, and for getting a minister for said town (all 
done in year 1709). Three pounds to be drawn by him out of town treasury. 

THO: PAINE. Town Clerk. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro convened and held at Truro, December 11, 
1711, it was agreed upon by said town that if Thomas Paine should set up and 
maintain a grist-mill within said town, he should take three quarts toll out of 
every bushel of Indian corn that should be ground in said mill, and two quarts 
out of every bushel of English corn so ground, and the town to give said Paine 
sixty pounds towards the building of said mill. Lieut. Constant Freeman, 
John Snow and Nathaniel Atkins were then chosen a committee by said town, 
in their name and behalf to make a full agreement with said Paine on ye town's 
part, and to take bonds of said Paine for the performance of his part according 
to the contract of the above written. 

Voted by said town. Attest, THO : PAINE. Town Clerk. 

Thomas Paine was a noted millwright, having built mills 
in Yarmouth and Eastham before removing to Truro. 

By English corn referred to in the agreement, will be 
understood the small grain cereals, as wheat, rye, oats and 
barley, still known in the English markets under the general 
name of corn. At a meeting of the town of Truro, convened 
and held at Truro March 16, 171 2, said town "voted that 
they would have ye present town treasurer sue William Dyer 
Sr , see what said Dyer hath in his hands of ye said town's 



io2 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

money, being ye remainder of a rate committed to him to 
collect when he was constable, in case said Dyer will not 
pay it without suit. " At the same meeting the said town 
ordered the selectmen to look over the former town treasurer's 
accounts and make a report of the same at the next town 
meeting. 

It was voted in 171 1, "That whereas crows and blackbirds 
do much damage by pulling up and destroying the young 
corn, every housekeeper shall bring or cause to be brought 
between the middle of March and the last day of June to the 
selectmen, eight blackbirds' heads, two crows' heads, or pro- 
portionably thereto, or forfeit 3s. 8d. to the use of the poor, 
and that for additional heads a bounty be paid id. for black- 
birds and 4d. for crows. " 

An old Eastham order is harder still on the birds. " Every 
single man in the township shall kill six blackbirds or three 
crows, and shall not be married till they comply with this 
requisition. " There were poachers in those days, as " a 
committee was appointed by the town to cause the law to 
be enforced to prevent killing of deer at improper seasons. " 
Truro was a noted place for deer; the deep-wooded valleys 
were good coverts in the severest snows of winter; fragments, 
and sometimes quite perfect antlers, are still found. 

Memorandzim, May 6, 1712: — Selectmen of Eastham and Truro met by ap- 
pointment to run the lines and review the bounds and to erect bounds where 
there are none betwixt the towns. Persuant thereto, we went to look at the 
antient bounds at the mouth of Bound Brook, but the white oak-tree with stones 
by it, we could not find, and judge it may be washed away by the sea. We 
marked a white oak-tree on four sides, with E on the southern side and T on 
the northern side, from thence we run east on the meadow to an island inside, 
from thence we run east on the meadow to an island on Mr. Mulford's meadow, 
which is the biggest island in said meadow. 

At a meeting of the town May n, 1714 for choice of a representative for the 
following year, the town made choice of Capt. Thomas Paine for their represen- 
tative. 



At ye same meeting it was agreed upon and voted by the town of Truro, to 
allow the representative five shillings per day from the time they should be upon 
the same until such time9 as the General Court shall by law raise their wages. 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 103 

About this time wolves came considerably into notice. 
An old writer says, " The wolves of that period were repre- 
sented as making no more bones to carry off a pig than a dog 
a marrow bone." In 171 3 the town voted "That three 
pounds bounty be paid in addition to what is allowed by the 
Province law for every head of grown wolves. " A further 
clause of the law would interest our modern sportsmen, and 
offer an inviting field. Voted, " That if any person not be- 
longing to the town shall kill any grown wolf within the 
bounds of the town in form and manner as aforesaid, shall 
have the like sum of three pounds paid to them in manner 
aforesaid. " Some years later, a reward not only on wolves 
generally, but particularly on one individual wolf: "To any 
individual who shall kill the wolf that has of late been prowl- 
ing through this township, " etc. 

A novel idea of shutting up the wolves on the Cape so 
they could not get off, or shutting them off so they could not 
get on, was suggested by building a high board-fence, a Chi- 
nese wall, across the Cape from Picked (perhaps Peaked) 
Cliff to Waygeneset Bay. It was quite generally discussed, 
but through the indifference of some of the towns, the project 
was not carried out. 

At a town meeting March 31, 171 8, said town agreed upon 
two town acts, or by-laws, viz. : one for regulating of rams, 
*nd one to encourage the killing of foxes, and ordered Captain 
Paine and John Snow to perfect said acts, in order to their 
being established at ye court of quarter sessions. At same 
meeting said town ordered the selectmen to cause a sufficient 
pound to be built in said town in such place as they, ye said 
selectmen, should think most convenient. At same meeting 
Joseph Young was chosen pound-keeper. 

It is worthy of notice that the proposed line for the fence 
/eferred to, was nearly the same as that for the proposed 
canal between Buzzard's Bay and Cape Cod Bay. It is also 
a matter of history that the Cape Cod canal is not a new 
enterprise, but was favorably considered more than a hundred 
years ago. Samuel Sewell, afterwards Judge Sewell, wrote 
in his diary about 1770, " Mr. Smith (of Sandwich ) rode with 



io 4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

me and showed me the place which some here thought to cut 
for to make a passage from the South Sea to the North. He 
said it was about a mile and a half between the utmost flowing 
of the two seas in Herring River and Scusset, the land very 
low and level. Herring River exceeding pleasant, by reason 
that it was pretty broad, shallow of an equal depth, and upon 
white sand. " 

In 1776 George Washington wrote a letter in his own hand 
to Hon. James Bowdoin of Boston, in which he expresses 
much interest in the enterprise, and recommends a govern- 
ment engineer to survey, etc. Thomas Mackeil was ap- 
pointed engineer. He made a thorough survey, and reported 
an estimate of the cost, — ^32,148 1 s. 8 d., — carrying 
out every item, which was submitted with the report, the 
Fame year, 1776, by the committee appointed. The estimate 
of cost by Thomas Mackeil, was in round numbers $150,000. 

It is not improbable that the war of the Revolution pre- 
vented accomplishing the work. 

We hope the Cape Cod canal will not have to wait as long 
after the survey as did the Suez Canal, first surveyed and 
undertaken by Necho, King of Egypt, of whom Herodotus 
says, "When he had desisted from his attempt to join by a 
canal the Nile with the Arabian Gulf, he despatched some 
vessels under the conduct of Phoenicians, with directions to 
pass by the columns of Hercules, and after penetrating the 
Southern Ocean, to return to Egypt. " This is the Phario- 
Necho of Scripture, the ancient De Lesseps, who, after he 
had consumed 120,000 men in attempting to join the Nile 
and Red Sea, abandoned the work, being admonished by an 
oracle that all his labors would turn to the advantage of a 
barbarian. The Phoenician sailors reported "that they had 
the sun on the right hand on their return, " a phenomena 
that to Heroditus, with the views of his time on astronomy, 
made it seem incredi table ; but is now a proof that these 
early navigators leaving the Red Sea, actually circumnavi- 
gated Libia (Africa) without the compass, and returned to 
the Mediterranean through the columns of Hercules, after an 
absence of nearly three years. For subsistence, they planted 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 105 

corn in Libia. This was two thousand years before the 
Portuguese De Gama, in 1497, discovered the Cape of Good 
Hope, and the same path to the Indies by which these bold 
mariners proceeded. 

The path to the Indies, and the rich trade of India, has 
been the grand prize of nations for thousands of years. It is 
a fact worthy of a better understanding, that nations have 
become enriched with its flow and declined with its ebb. 

A path to India by the west we know was the dream of 
Columbus which he did not live to see. In the interpretation 
of his dream a remarkable paper was written in Virginia in 
1623. It will be remembered Virginia extended from sea to 
sea. 

Sir Francis Drake was on the back side of Virginia in his voyage about the 
world, in thirty-seven degrees, just opposite to Virginia, and cailed Nova Albion, 
and by the natives kindly used: and now all the question is, only, How broad 
the land maybe at that place from the James River above the falls ; but all men 
conclude it to be not narrow, yet that there is, and will be found the like rivers 
issuing into a South Sea, or a West Sea, on the other side of these hills, as 
there is on this side where they run from the west down into the east after a 
course of one hundred and fifty miles ; but of this certainty M. Henri Brigs, 
that most judicious and learned mathematician, wrote a small tractate and 
presented it to that most noble Earl of Southampton, the Governor of the Vir- 
ginia company in England, Annus 1623, to which I refer for full information. 
And by such a discovery the planters in Virginia shall gain the rich trade of the 
East Indies and so cause it to be driven through the continent of Virginia, part 
by land and part by water, and in a most gainful way and safe, and far less 
expenseful and dangerous than it now is. And they doubt not to find some rich 
and beneficial country and commodities not yet known to the world, that lies 
west and by south now from the present plantation. 

It must be admitted that they saw the Sleeping Giant. 
True they were sadly at sea in their geography and dead 
reckoning. West by south from James River in thirty-seven 
degrees would almost strike San Francisco ; nearer four thou- 
sand miles than three hundred as they estimated, from James 
River to "the back side of Virginia." As Sir Francis Drake 
died in 1597 on board his celebrated ship Golden Hind, 
at Porto Bello, this was more than two hundred years before 
a railroad had been thought of ; but these " adventurous " men 
practically grasped the situation, prophetically realized the 



io6 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

results of the Pacific Railroad, and anticipated the long dream 
of Columbus and Europe, so forcibly expressed, " To gain the 
rich trade of the Indies, and so cause it to be driven through 
the continent of Virginia." 

The San Francisco of these thoughtful men would have 
been near Parkersburg. The great, valley of the Ohio and 
the Mississippi and Missouri, the great Rocky Mountain 
Range, and the Great Western slope, would have seemed a 
chiaro-oscuro to their wondering eyes. 

In 1 7 14 the Province Lands hitherto for municipal convenience regarded part 
of Truro, were constituted a distinct precinct entitled the precinct of Cape Cod. 
Sept. 24 of the same year the line was settled between the Province lands and Truro, 
beginning at the easterly end of a cliff near the Cape Harbor, called by the 
Indians Hetsconoyet, and by the English Comorant Hill, at the jaw-bone of a 
whale set in the ground by the side of a red oak stump, and thence running by 
marked range trees nearly on a north and west line about half a point more 
westerly, to a marked pine-tree, standing by a reedy pond, called by the Indians 
Wocknotchcoyisset ; and from thence by marked range trees to a high hill on the 
north side near the North Sea (Atlantic) with a cedar post set in the sand hill ; 
and thence to run in the same line to the sea, and running back on the contrary 
line to the harbor. Signed by 



'WILLIAM BASSETT, \ Com ' a ^ » Gen ' C ° UrL 



And by Thomas Mulford, Thomas Paine, Joseph Doane, Hezekiah Punngton. 
Jedediah Lumbert and Samuel Knowles ; endorsed, Thomas Paine Esq., and 
Mr. Jedediah Lumbert, agents for the proprietors. 

At a meeting of the proprietors April 26th, 1715, it was voted to make appli- 
cation to the next Court of Quarter Sessions, for the County of Barnstable, for a 
highway to be laid out from Eastham to Truro, and through Truro down to and 
through the Province lands upon Cape Cod as the law directs. 

The following year, 1715, Truro people became restive under 
frequent difficulties growing out of the anomalous position 
or muriicipal character of the new precinct, and presented 
a petition to the General Court, by Constant Freeman, their 
representative, praying "that Cape Cod (the precinct) be 
declared either a part of Truro, or not a part of Truro, that 
the town may know how to act in regard to some persons." 

An order of notice was issued, summoning the inhabitants 
of the Precinct, " to show cause why they do not entertain a 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 107 

learned orthodox minister of the gospel to dispense the word 
of God to them as required by law. 

The first public legislation upon the Province lands at 
Cape Cod, resulted in the following : " An act for preserv- 
ing the harbor at Cape Cod, and regulating the inhabitants 
and sojourners there." No doubt the squatter and itinerant 
element of the Precinct, denominated sojourners, produced the 
anomalous and independent sentiment which provoked the 
more substantial orthodox settlers. 

A grant of one hundred and fifty pounds was made in 1717, 
toward the expense of building a meeting-house at Cape 
Cod, " The money to be expended under the direction of 
Thomas Paine, Ebenezer Doane, and John Snow of Truro. 
The edifice to be thirty-two feet by twenty-eight stud, and to 
have a gallery on three sides. The inhabitants to sustain 
the balance of expense, and keep the premises in repair." 
Such was the beginning of church building in Provincetown : 
a government grant to support the ministry and build the 
meeting-house, and a building committee from Truro. Strictly 
a missionary enterprise. Compare the Government Mission 
of 1 71 7, with the stately temples of 1877, pointing tall spires 
heavenward. Architecturally considered, the Provincetown 
churches of to-day compare favorably with any in New Eng- 
land. 

In 1727 the number of inhabitants of the Province lands 
were so much increased that the Precinct of Cape Cod was 
incorporated June 14th as a township, by the name of 
Provincetown. Doctor Freeman says : " Owing to the pecu- 
liar location and anomalous relation, the inhabitants though 
allowed the right of representation, were exempt from taxation 
except for town and military duty. The provincial govern- 
ment still continued to provide for the ministry." The fol- 
lowing is the act of incorporation : 

Be it enacted, etc., that all the lands on said Cape (being Province lands) be, 
and hereby are, constituted a township by the name of Provincetown, and that 
the inhabitants thereof be invested with the powers, privileges, and immuni- 
ties that any of the inhabitants of any of the towns within the Province by law 
are, or ought to be invested with, Saving always the right of this Province to said 



io8 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

land, which is to be in no wise prejudiced. And provided that no person or 
persons, be hindered and obstructed in building such wharves, stages, work- 
houses, and flakes, and other things, as shall be necessary for the salting, keep- 
ing and packing their fish, or in cutting down and taking such trees and other 
materials, growing on said Province lands, as shall be needful for that purpose, 
or in any sort of fishing, whaling, or getting of bait at the said Cape; but that 
the same be held as common as heretofore, with all the privileges and advan- 
tages thereunto in any wise belonging. 

All lands sold in Provincetown to this day are sold subject 
to the above conditions, with a quit-claim title. For many- 
years Provincetown had a precarious existence. Having no 
interest in the soil, the inhabitants were easily afloat — they 
were a barometer of the fluctuating interests of the fisheries. 

A few years after the incorporation in 1727 a reaction 
began, and in 1748 only two or three families remained. In 
1755 only three houses were standing, and not a family 
remained. Toward the close of the French war, the tide of 
fortune again turned, and at the breaking out of the Revo- 
lutionary War, there were twenty houses, thirty-six families, 
and two hundred and five souls. During the war it was in 
the hands of the enemy ; when the war closed, every family 
had again vanished. Mr. Spear, the minister, formerly the 
Truro schoolmaster, followed his people. 

With the dawn of peace, Provincetown began a new and 
permanent career of prosperity, which with slight check has 
continued to the present day. The first eighteen vears of 
the new departure were quite unparalled for a New England 
town. 

In 1800 the population was nine hundred and forty-six, 
dwellings one hundred and forty-four, eight of which were in 
the limits of Truro. Later, the eastern district was largely in 
Truro. This was another "anomalous" feature of this 
town of many anomalies. 

The village stretched along the shore east and west. The 
easternmost wing soon overran the original boundary line, 
and a large number of families found themselves legally and 
geographically in a foreign town, between whom rolled six or 
eight miles of blue water and nearly twice that of sand hills. 

Their social and business life was completely identified 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING: 109 

with Rome, but they were not Romans. After frequent 
petitions, the General Court came to their rescue from time 
to time, till the present boundary line near the railroad bridge 
it Beach Point was fixed. Provincetown thinks her buildings 
ivill not run over this line for the present, and is not ambi- 
tious for more territory. Truro says to her neighbor, to the 
County Commissioners, and to the General Court, move this 
boundary at least half-way, and maintain the highways, for 
which we are oppressively taxed, and your town receives the 
benefit. 

So these miles of most valuable territory that bind the city 
of the Pilgrims to the rest of the world, and preserve the 
grand harbor from destruction, go a-begging. 

In 1795 King Philip's Lodge of Free Masons was opened, 
and the building known as the Masonic Hall was built. 

Whales in the sea God's voice obey. — N. E. Printer. 

The whaling business that has been carried on so exten- 
sively and profitably in New England originated in Truro, 
became a flourishing business in Wellfleet, but finally as a 
Cape enterprise settled in Provincetown, where it has been 
continued with varying success during the history of the 
town. From the Cape, whaling extended to the Vineyard, 
Nantucket and New Bedford, giving them great prosperity 
and wealth. The whalemen of Truro were distinguished for 
their enterprise and success, and from the best authority gave 
the first impulse to the country, and ultimately to Europe. 

Whaling was the most important branch of the fisheries on 
the Cape. When the English first visited our coast, the 
favorite ground for whale was in the bay, and near the 
shores. They were undisturbed and found much better food, 
in pursuit of which were often drawn into shoal water, and 
not unfrequently left by the ebbing tide, or water-boned, so 
as to become an easy prey to the Indians. It will be 
remembered the Pilgrims named Wellfleet Harbor Grampus 
Bay, on account of the abundance of this species, which the 
Indians were cutting up. 



no TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The tortoise, seal, and shark, and in your bay 
The mighty whale and porpoise sporting, they 
The power and wondrous works of God display 
For our beholding. 

These were the "drift whale " so often referred to in the 
laws of the Old Colony towns, a part of which belonged to the 
minister and sometimes to the schools. 

The English early settlers first pursued the whale in boats, 
but being soon disturbed in their old hunting-grounds, retired 
as did the Indians, to new reservations and the frontier. 

The boats were then abandoned, and large sloops were 
adopted. Early in the present century, nine large sloops 

from Truro were en- 
gaged in whaling. One 
of these was the Lydia 
and Sophia, built in 
Truro under the bank 
north of the house of 
Mrs. Elkanah Paine. 
She was probably the 
first vessel built in 
Truro ; and was mostly 
owned by Capt. Heman 
Smith Rich. Many of the names had an oily flavor 
when the Eastham settlers first came to Paomet, as, Try 
House Lot, WJialc House Hill, etc. The last was the 
high bank near the South Truro Landing, where were kept the 
boats and try works and lookouts for the south part of the 
town. 

Joshua Atwood's lance that he hath made on purpose to kill fin-backs with, 
hath a three-square head marked W. R. 

Received, Feby., 1719-20. JOHN SNOW. Town Clerk. 

Doctor Freeman wrote in 1794, of whaling in Truro : 




THE DRIFT WHALE. 



Formerly whales of different species were common on the coast, and yielded 
a great profit to the inhabitants who pursued them in boats from the shore. 
But they are now rare, and the people who are the most dexterous whalemen in 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. m 

the world, are obliged to follow them into remote parts of the ocean. Two 
inhabitants of Truro, Captain David Smith and Captain Gamaliel Collins, were 
the first who adventured to the Falkland Islands in pursuit of whales. This voy- 
age was undertaken in the year 1774, by the advice of Admiral Montague of the 
British Navy, and was crowned with success. Since that period the whalemen 
of Truro have chiefly visited the coast of Guinea and Brazil. A want of a 
good market for their oil, has however of late compelled them to turn their 
attention to codfishing. The inhabitants of Truro are employed in the mer- 
chant's service. Being in general, industrious and faithful, they soon rise to the 
command of a vessel. Many of the masters employed from Boston and other 
ports are natives of Truro. 

Burke's speech in Parliament on American conciliation, 
sometimes called the Argumentum Piscatorium, is a glow- 
ing tribute to the whalemen of America. 

Look at the manner in which the people of New England have carried on 
their fishery. While we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, 
penetrating into the deepest recesses of Hudson's Bay; while we are looking 
for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the oppo- 
site region of polar cold — that they are at the antipodes, and engaged under the 
frozen Serpent of the South. Falkland Island, which seemed too remote and 
romantic an object for the grasp of natural ambition, is but a stage and resting- 
place in the progress of their victorious industry. While some of them draw 
the line and strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run the longitude 
and pursue the gigantic game along the shores of Brazil. 

" Ichabod Paddock went from Cape Cod to Nantucket to 
instruct the people in the art of killing whales in boats from 
the shore. " This was the beginning of the great whaling 
business in Nantucket, that gave this little island almost a 
commercial supremacy of the business fifty years ago ; and 
that spreading to New Bedford, made her the richest commu- 
nity in the land. At one time one hundred and ninety-three 
men from Nantucket were sailing from English ports as cap- 
tains of whalemea. This means a large fleet of vessels and 
an immense amount of capital afloat. Some of the present 
large fortunes in England were begun in this profitable 
enterprise. 

Mr. Richard Paine told the writer that he could remember 
when there were lookouts at the Pond Landing for whale, and 
a man was kept constantly on them. When a whale was 
discovered, the alarm was given by shouting from the lookout, 



ri2 TRURO— CAPE COD, 

Totvner ! which was quickly taken up, and repeated and re- 
repeated with might of lung. And that he had heard on calm 
days, the shout at his father's house quite two miles distant. 
I inquired what was the meaning of Towner ; he could not 
tell, but afterwards, when reading Walter Folger's description 
of Nantucket, I found it was an Indian word, and signifies 
that they have seen the whale twice. I have referred to a 
similar practice in Cornwall during the pilchard season. 

Rev. Levi Whitman writing from Wellfleet, 1793, says: 
" Whale-fishing was the original business; none were more 
expert than the aboriginal Indians. Before the war of the 
Revolution, whaling was carried on to exceeding good advan- 
tage. The inhabitants had acquired large property which 
was destroyed and lost during the war. " 

Captain Jesse Holbrook, father of Colonel Joseph, and that 
stanch old Democrat Robert, belonged to a famous whaling- 
gang known as "The Seed Corners." He killed fifty-four 
sperm whale on one voyage. His reputation as a skilful 
whaleman secured him an excellent position in a London 
company for twelve years, as a schoolmaster to teach the 
English youth the art of killing whale. 

An attempt was made to revive whaling in Wellfleet less 
than twenty years ago, but one of their vessels was never 
heard from, and the business was abandoned. The Truro 
losses will be noticed in another place. 

At one time a large proportion of the middle-aged men on 
Bound Brook Island were whaling captains. In 18 10 a boat 
from South Truro, commanded by Miller, fastened to a right 
whale, whose antics baffled all approach. She stood on her 
nose and thrashed the water with her flukes, describing a 
circuit of three hundred feet. Nearer approach seemed 
impossible. A hurried messenger was sent for Captain Tom 
At wood, a retired old whaleman. He was found at home, 
quietly reading his Bible. " Yes ; tell them I'll come and kill 
her, " said the old Triton, shutting up the good book. He 
was soon in the. boat, and good as his word. He gave his 
orders according to her manoeuvres, was rowed on to the 
safe side, and sent his lance to her life. 



PEACE, PROGRESS AND WHALING. 



"3 



And the whale it whistled, and the porpoise rolled, 
And the dolphins bared their backs of gold — > 

The ship Milton, an old New Bedford whaler, while 
cruising in the Northern Gulf, discovered a whistling whale, 
which they killed. When the headsman placed his feet in his 
spout holes to cut off his head, he found a harpoon running 
transversely, which had produced the whistling. By the 
stamp on the harpoon, it was found that the whale had worn 
this ornament fourteen years. He yielded one hundred and 
eighty barrels of oil. A tongue has been known to yield 
twenty-seven barrels of oil. 



The black fish, Globiceph alus melas so common on our 
shores, strictly are not fish at all ; but belong to the mammal- 
ian family, as the whale, porpoise, or sea hog, and all hot- 
blooded sea animals, that suckle their young. Sometimes 
schools of several hundred are driven ashore. 

In another place I shall give an account of the Sunday school 
of 1834. The largest school ever known was driven ashore 
at Truro, in 1874, numbering 1405, making 27000 gallons of 
oil. They lay along the shore from Great Hollow to the Pond 
Landing, the distance of a mile. The cut below shows only 
the first part of the land- 
ing. The occupants of 
the dory are Boston 
girls. 

Many years ago an 
English tourist walking 
along the shore under 
the high bank in Truro, 
found a very small boy 
cutting the blubber from 
a very large black-fish 
that he had discovered ashore in the morning, when he drove 
his cow to pasture. He went a mile to his home for a 
hatchet and knife, killed the big fish, and saved all the blub- 
ber, making a good day's work. 




THE I405 SCHOOL OF KI.ACKFISH. 



ii 4 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

One pleasant summer morning perhaps thirty years ago, 
Captain Daniel Rich who lived on Bound Brook Island, after 
driving his cow to pasture, looked over the bank, as was his 
habit. It was lowwater, but some distance along the shore, 
high and dry, he saw some objects which he thought unusual, 
and that he would walk towards them. Before going to 
breakfast that morning, he had marked seventy-five monstrous 
blackfish, that he sold before night for nineteen hundred dol- 
lars. 

CAPTAIN HENRY ATKINS. 

I have found among the papers of Sir Francis Barnard, 
Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, 1764, an 
account made up from observations of Captain Henry Atkins, 
one of the enterprising navigators that distinguished Truro, 
referred to by Dr. Freeman. The accounts consist of perhaps 
twenty-five pages, from which I have make a few extracts : 

Captain Henry Atkins sailed from Boston in a ship called the Whale, on a 
voyage to Davis's Straits in 1758. He went ashore on several places southward 
of Davis's Inlet in latitude fifty-six degrees, but could not discover anywhere 
the least sign of any persons but the natives having been there before him. 
************* 

The captain then went ashore and carried with him some trifles he thought 
most agreeable to the Indians, who returned to the same place and brought a 
quantity of whalebone, at least fourteen feet long, and gave him in exchange for 
about 10 s. sterling value, as much bone as produced him ^120 sterling in Bos- 
ton. The Indians were chiefly dressed in beaver clothing of the finest fur, and 
some in seal skins. He could not distinguish their sex by their dress, but one of 
his seamen approached one of them, who, opening her beaver, discovered her 
sex, which pleased the Indians greatly. * *' * * * * * 

I shall once for all take notice that the several harbors and rivers named by 
him were from something remarkable he found in them ; as Gull Sound from the 
prodigious number of gulls, also after the names of his particular friends. On 
'Cape Cod' (one of his friends) he discovered pines sufficient to make masts 
for ships of six or seven hundred tons. September 29th, 175S, he left this de- 
lightful Inlet in fine weather, bound to Boston. Searching the coast and trading, 
put in to Fortune Bay, and left October 16th. Had a five days' passage to St. 
Peter's Bay in Newfoundland, where the weather had been so cold and tempestu- 
ous for fourteen days, could not fish, which Captain Atkins might have done at 
Fortune Bay the whole time. 

Boston, Feby. 16, 1761. 



CHAPTER VII. 
TRURO OLD AND NEW. 

'angerfield and Poole. Act of Incorporation. Dudley and Mather. Who named Truro? 
Roger Conant. Etymology of the Name. Truro in Cornwall. History and Asso 
ciations. Queen Victoria's Description. Granger Hill. St. Mary's Cathedral 
Bishop" and Archbishop Benson. How a Cathedral is finished. Viscount Vivian 
Owen Fitzpen. Truro Market Tablet. Tragothian. Falmouth and Provincetown 
Pendennis Castle. Cornish Language. Barbarisms. Cornish Travellers. Hand- 
some Women. Cornish Race. Mild Superstition. Personalities. King Arthur 
Land's End. Prominthian Fountain. Cornish Politics. Election of a Member. Lib- 
erals and Conservatives. Cornish Curiosities. John Wesley's first and last Sermon 
Holy Wells. Cornish Tourists. Dean of Canterbury. English Inn. Sam Gilbert 
Cornish Fare. Cornish Toast. Penzance Pilchards and Pirates. Truro ParisL, 
Old Polick Church. General Washington's Pew and Coach. Truro Station. 

ON the records of the General Court of 1709, is found the 
following order : " The part of the Cape lying betweet* 
Eastham, and known as the Indian Pamet, shall be a separate 
town by the name of Dangerfield. " 

It is quite remarkable that the above record of the General 
Court is all the known evidence of the town of Dangerfield. 
It is certain that the name was never recognized by the 
town, and I have not been able to find in the town, or church, 
or any other records, any intimations of this order, nor any 
traditions from any source to this effect. It is a coincidence 
that a corresponding record exists touching Wellfleet. 

Nov. I, a hearing was had on the petition of Peter, Thomas and Josiah Oakes, 
agents for that part of Eastham called Billinsgate. The Court ordered, that it 
be a town called " Poole," the bounds from the bound line of Truro across the 
neck from sea to sea; extending south to a valley called Bridge (Brush) valley 

"5 



n6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

and so running as the valley and brook runs across the neck from the Back 
Side, to the mouth of said Brook, to the Point of Billinsgate Beach : also that 
the whaling and oyster fishing be in common as formerly. 

This is even more reliable than the order for Dangerfield, 
as the petition is made by well-known and responsible names 
as agents, but like Truro, was never recognized. There 
seems a mystery about these two names which awaits expla- 
nation. 

"Poole" is a town of some note in the south of England. 
It was here that a mob, with the church warden at their head, 
assailed Charles Wesley and drove him out of the parish. 
" The devil reigns terribly here, " said the great hymnnolo- 
gist, as the infuriated pack hooted and belabored him beyond 
their limits. 

The General Court record referring to the new name, is as 
follows : " An act making Pamet a district of Eastham, a 
township to be called Truroe. " The "District" that was 
some three or four years ago erected by the name of Danger- 
field, was, July 1 6, 1709, in the petition of Captain Thomas 
Paine of Pamet, incorporated by the name of Truroe, making 
the seventh township on the Cape, and August 1, pursuant to 
provision made, the town was organized on express condition 
" That they procure and settle a learned godly minister. " 
If ever known as Dangerfield, the act surely would not have 
said "Pamet, a district of Eastham. " 

The following is the first record in the Town Clerk's book 
after the incorporation of the new town. 

Pursuant to an order of ye General Court, the inhabitants of Truro were warned 
and met on the first day of August, 1709, and chose officers for said town for the 
remaining part of the present year. That is to say : for Town Clerk, John 
Snow; for Selectmen, Thomas Mulford, Jedediah Lumbert and John Snow; foi 
Constable, Benj. Small ; and for tytheing man, Hezekiah Purington ; for Town 
Treasurer, Constant Freeman; for fence viewers, Thomas Mulford, Thomas 
Lumbert and Beriah Smith ; for Surveyers of Highways, Thomas Mulford and 
Joseph Young Sen. 

At this meeting John Snow was elected town clerk in 
place of Thomas Paine who became the first representative to 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 117 

the General Court, and continued in other active service as 
long- as he lived. 

ORIGINAL ACT OF INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF 

TRURO. 

Province of the Massachusetts Bay, L. S. — An act for making Paw- 
met a District of Eastham, within the county of Barnstable, a township to 
be called Truroe. 

Whereas, there is a certain tract of land known by the name of Pawmet, at 
present a District of Eastham, and under the constablerick of that town, consist- 
ing of about forty families, and daily increasing the said land extending 

about fourteen miles in length from the Province lands at the extremity of Cape 
Cod reserved for the Fishery, and the lands of Eastham on the South, and run- 
ning northerly as far as the lands called the Purchaser's lands, extends over the 
harbor named the Eastern harbor; according to the known stated boundaries 

thereof the breadth thereof running from sea to sea across the neck of land 

commonly called Cape Cod. And whereas the inhabitants of said district by 
their humble petition have set forth that they have built a convenient house to 
meet in for the public worship of God, and have for some time had a minister 
among them ; humbly praying that they may be made a township, and have such 
necessary officers within themselves, whereby they may be enabled to manage and 
carry on their civil and religious concerns and enjoy the like powers and privi- 
leges as other towns in this Province have and do by law enjoy. Be it therefore 
enacted, by his Excellency the Governor, Council and Representatives in Gen- 
eral Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the tract of land 
called Pawmet, described and bounded as before expressed, be and hereby is 
erected into a township and made a distinct and separate town, and shall be 
called by the name of Truroe, and that the inhabitants thereof, have use, exer- 
cise, and enjoy all the powers and privileges by law granted to townships within 
this Province ; and the constable of the said place, for the time being is hereby 
empowered and required to warn the inhabitants to assemble and meet together to 
choose selectmen and other town officers to manage and carry on their prudential 
affairs until the next anniversary time for election of town officers, and the said 
inhabitants are enjoined to assemble and attend the said work accordingly. 

Provided, that the inhabitants of the said town do procure and settle a learned 
orthodox minister to dispense the word of God to them, within the space of three 
years next after the passing of this act or sooner. Provided also, that they pay 
their proportion to the present province tax, as it is apportioned among them 
respectively by the selectmen or assessors of Eastham. 

Boston, July 16th, 1709. This bill having been read three several times in the 
House of Representatives, passed to be enacted. 

JOHN CLARK. Speaker. 
District. — This Bill having been read three several times in Councils, passed 
to be enacted. ISA ADDINGTON. Secy. 

By his Excellency the Governor, I consent to the enacting of this Bill. 

J. DUDI EY. 



n8 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

This is the same Dudley to whom Doctor Cotton Mather 
addressed a remarkably plain and ud qualified letter of which 
the following is an extract. 

Boston, JarCy 20., 1 708. 
Sir : — Your snare has been that thing, the hatred whereof is most expressly 
required of the ruler, namely, covetousness. The main channel of that covetous- 
ness has been the reign of bribery, which you, sir, have set up in the land, where 
it was hardly known till you brought it into fashion. 

The Truro of our history was undoubtedly named by an 
Englishman, and for the old borough, the present city of 
Truro in Cornwall. By whom it was named we shall never 
know, but in the absence of evidence circumstances point 
more directly to Thomas Paine than any other person. 

He was a prominent man, and his influence quite marked 
in all the interests of the town. His scholarly attainments 
were equal if not superior to any other of his associates ; and 
as has been noticed, he was the efficient clerk of the proprie 
tors, drew the petition to the General Court, and was the 
first representative under the new corporation. Many of 
the Truro family names belong to Cornwall, and it is quite 
reasonable that they still had friends and associations there. 
It may have been only a remarkable coincidence that I found 
in the Truro city directory of 1878 the names of Paine, 
Dyer, Rich, and Higgins. Few people born in Truro do not 
stand related to some of these families. With few exceptions, 
they cover the writer's direct ancestry, and were all among 
the first residents. 

In most instances, the new towns in America were named 
by some citizen for their own, or a neighboring one in 
the Mother Country. We instance Boston, by Rev. John Cot- 
ton, Lynn, by Rev. Samuel Whitney. These eloquent and 
learned Puritan ministers, driven from their own flourishing 
parishes, and hounded through England by mercenary prop- 
agandists, clandestinely embarked for America ; and the 
names they loved so well at home the)'' gave to new homes in 
the wilderness, that to-day are known and honored wherever 
the white man has trod. 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 119 

The following from old Roger Conant is also to the point : 
" Secondly, I being the first that had house in Salem (and 
never had hand in naming that or any other home), and 
myself and those that are there with me being all from 
the western part of England, desire this western name of 
Budleigh, a market-town in Devonshire, and near unto the 
sea, as we are here in this place, and where myself 
were born." As the old Roger Conant of Truro, does not 
stand confessed, we must gather such other information 
as clusters around the ancient Cornwall city. The 
etymology of the name is produced from a list of curious 
varieties, as Tre-ru, i. e., town place on a declining land ; 
tre-vorou, the town on the ways ; tre-urn or trc-uro, town 
or castle on the river ; and tru-ru, the three streets, or the 
town on the (Roman) road. All these renderings are not 
inaptly applied to the situation of Truro, though the last finds 
most favor. Truro is strictly a Cornish word, and like all 
Cornish language, has great variety of structure, but the 
same meaning. We learn from a Cornish rhyme, that — 

By Tre, Ros, Pol, Lan, Caer, and Pen, 
You may know most Cornishmen. 

Another to the same effect has been incorporated in an old 
Cornish verse : — 

And shall they scorn Tre, Pol, and Pen ? 

And shall Trelawney die ? 
But here's twenty thousand Cornish bold 

Will see the reason why 

The city of Truro of which we present a remarkably correct 
picture, is in the county of Cornwall, three hundred and a 
quarter miles from London by the Great Western Railway, 
fifty-four miles from Plymouth, and thirty-five miles from 
Land's End. It is prettily located in a valley between the 
risers or creeks Kenroyn and Allen, which unite and form 
the Truro River. It is delightfully sheltered by high hills, 
the railway passing near the head of the valley, on a viaduct 



i 20 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

ninety-two feet high, fairly overlooking the city. The popu- 
lation in 1 87 1 was over eleven thousand. It is a place of 
considerable antiquity. The site of Truro Castle, belonging 
to Reginal, Earl of Truro, in the twelfth century, is shown, 
and is often alluded to by old historians. As early as 1 1 30, 
the borough of Truro was incorporated by the name of mayo 
and burgesses. Its first charter obtained by Richard de Lucy, 
Chief Justice of England, a resident of Truro, dated from the 
middle of the twelfth century. From time immemorial Truro 
has been a tin centre. In the reign of King John, 11 99, it 
was made a tin coinage town, which privilege it retained till 
1838, when the system was abolished. Kings regulated tin 
and claimed one fifteenth of the whole as lord of the soil, 
which was called the "Lord's dish." The port of Truro 
included Falmouth, about twelve miles distant, and the whole 
harbor. The mayor of Truro was Mayor of Falmouth as well. 
Its central position, and being on a tidal river capable of 
accommodating vessels of two hundred tons, has always made 
it a place of considerable importance. 

After the lapse of several centuries, by letters patent in 
1876, the Cornish See was revived, and Truro was selected as 
the site of the bishopric. The event was regarded of import- 
ance to the county of Cornwall, but more particularly to 
Truro. St. Mary's Parish Church was chosen as the cathe- 
dral. The ceremony of the enthronement of the bishop, 
Edward W. Benson, D.D., was performed by the Lord 
Bishop of Exeter. The arms of the ancient See of St. 
German have been adopted by the Heralds College for the 
arms of the bishopric of Truro. St. Mary's Pro Cathedral 
was dedicated the Chapel of St. Mary, Chapelle S. Maria de 
Truru, September 28, 1259. In 1328 the high altar was 
dedicated. The present church building, with exception of 
the steeple, was completed about 15 18. The steeple was 
finished in 1769. It is a pure specimen of the perpendicular 
of Henry the VIII. 's time, and one of the few Cornish 
churches richly ornamented. As the present edifice is very 
much decayed and regarded dangerous, it has recently been 
decided to build a splendid cathedral on the same site. 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 123 

Since writing the above, the old St. Mary's has been dis- 
placed by a large and costly cathedral now rising, which will 
be one of the finest churches erected in Europe during the 
present century. It is to cost £, 100,000, towards Jthe pay- 
ment of which Lady Rolle has contributed £, 40,000. The 
corner-stone was laid with much ceremony, by the Prince of! 
Wales, Master of Masons in England. 

Since the publication of this book began, the bishop of 
Truro has been appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Arch- 
bishop Benson is a moderate High Churchman, and recog- 
nizes the strength of the Anglican wing. He is credited 
with having managed his new diocese with great energy and 
tact, and with being a popular administrator, which are 
important gifts for the great Primate of the English Church. 

In his first charge as bishop of Truro, he bade his clergy 
remember joyfully the zealous labor of Wesley towards the 
close of the last century, that had so influenced the general 
tendency of religious thought. Canon Wilkinson has been 
appointed to succeed Bishop Benson as bishop of Truro. 

In the old country a church, particularly a cathedral, is 
never finished. For hundreds of years the work goes on. 
Bells, and altars, and windows, and chapels, and mural 
paintings, and sculptures, and images, and tablets are added 
from time to time. The cathedral at Truro is no exception 
to this rule. The bells, the clock, the organ, the font of 
Caen stone, the windows of old stained glass, the pulpit, 
inlaid with scenes in the Saviour's life, the different figures 
in the chancel, each had its date and history. The panels 
were covered with inscriptions old and quaint, the niches 
filled with sculptures in alabaster, and monuments in marble, 
alabaster and slate, upright and recumbent. 

On a brass band which encircles the oak communion table 
of 1625, is engraved in Greek, the fifty-fourth verse of the sixth 
chapter of St. John's Gospel. To the reading desk there used 
to be chained a black-letter copy of Bishop Jewell's sermon, 
preached before Queen Elizabeth, at St. Paul's Cross, 
London. 

Considerable space is devoted to the Vivians, an ancient 



124 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

and important family of Truro, who are credited with being 
descended from a Roman general, and are well known in 
English history and society. Some of the finest seats in the 
vicinity are owned by this family. Viscount Vivian, father 
of'the present Lord Vivian of Glynn, was a brave soldier. 
His history and virtues are set forth in sixty "lapidarian 
lines" on a mural tablet, which as a very good specimen 
of the English custom so different from our own, and 
because in the old Truro Cathedral, soon to pass away, I am 
tempted to present in this history : 

In memory of Lt. Gen'l, the Rt. Hon'ble 
Richard Hussey, Baron Vivian of Glynn & Truro, 
Grand Cross of the Bath and of Hanover and 
Knight of the Austrian order Maria Theresa 
and of the Russian order of St. Wladimer. 
Born in this town July 28, 1775, 
(died in Baden Baden Aug. 20, 1S42). 
He entered the army in July, 1793, and in 
1795 and 1799 served as a Captain in the 28th 
Reg. in Flanders and Holland under H. R. 
H. the Duke of York. In 1799, as Capt. in 
the 7th Hussars, he served in the expe- 
dition to the Holder. In 1S0S, he, as 
Lt. Colon, of the 7th Hussars, commanded this 
Regt. in the expedition under Sir John Moore : 
In 1S13 he again served in the Peninsula, 
with the army under command of Lord Wel- 
lington, as a colonel of the staff in command 
of a brigade of Cavalry, and in 1818 as a 
Major General he commanded a Regiment of cav- 
alry at the battle of Waterloo : 
he had the honor of being appointed 
one of the aquaries of his Majesty King 
George the fourth, and groom to the Bed- 
chamber to his Majesty King 
William the fourth: in 1831 he was named tc 
the command of the army in Ireland, and 
in 1835, he was brought from there, 
to fill the high office of master general 
of the ordinance ; he was privy 
councillor both in England and in 
Ireland, and during the time he 
commanded in the latter country, 
he was seven times named one of 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 125 

the Lords Justices ; he sat in all 
the Parliaments with the exception of 
one only, from 1820 to 1841 (when he 
was raised to the Peerage), having been 
twice elected for Truro, twice for Winsor, 
and once for the eastern division of the 
County of Cornwall. His nobleness of char 
acter, his charity, benevolence and in- 
tegrity enthroned him, to all who knew 
him ; the widow and the orphan never 

appealed to him in vain; and the 
deserving soldier always found in him 
a friend. lie died at Baden Ba- 
den on the 20th of August, 1842, re- 
joicing in the certain hope of a bless- 
ed resurrection to the everlasting life, 
confident of the Merits of his Lord 

and Saviour. 
At his own request his remains were 
placed in this Church, by the side 
of his beloved parents, and this monu- 
ment is erected by his widow and chil- 
dren, who mourn the loss of the best 
and most affectionate husband 
and father. 

Among scores of other tablets and interesting history, 1 
copied only that to "Owen Fitz-pen, alias Phippen, a great 
traveller, taken prisoner by the Turks in 1620. In 1627, 
with ten other Christian captives, he overthrew sixty-five 
Turks in their own ship, and carried the prize safe into 
Carthagena. Five of the Christians were slain. The King 
of Spain sent for him to Court, and offered him rank and 
favor if he would turn Papist, which he refused. He 
received the order of knight, and six thousand pounds, and 
returned to England." 

Melcomb in Dorset was his place of birth : 
Aged 54, and here lies Earth in Earth. 

In the wall of Truro market is a tablet which has occupied 
a like position in two former buildings, with this inscription : 

Who seeks to find Eternal Treasvre, 

Mvst vse no gvile in Waight or Measvre. 161 5. 



i 2 6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Truro is a place of great antiquity and the metropolis of 
Cornwall. It is described "as the largest, cleanest, best 
built, and best regulated town in the county, and one of 
Nature's most beautiful localities. Its principal streets are 
wide and granite paved, with streams of clean water flowing 
through the gutters. Its houses are mostly substantial stone 
fronts. Here all the modes of polished life are visible in 
genteel houses, elegant hospitality, fashionable apparel and 
courteous manners. What adds still more to the respecta- 
bility of the place, a taste for reading is pretty generally 
diffused throughout the neighborhood. " 

Truro has a valuable library founded by the late Bishop of 
Exeter, the Royal Institution of Cornwall, a museum with 
rare curiosities and antiquities, the County Library, the Royal 
Cornwall Histicultural Society, and many other institutions 
of charity and education. Richard and John Lander were 
born here. A fluted Doric column, with a gigantic statue by 
a Cornish sculptor, of Richard Lander, commemorates the 
African traveller and explorer of the Nile. This is also the 
birthplace of Henry Martin, the Oriental missionary, Dr. 
Wolcott, better known as " Peter Pindar," and Polwhele, the 
historian, a direct descendant of Edward the First. 

When you visit Truro, put up at " The Red Lyon. " On 
the impost of the doorway are the family arms, and " I. I. F., 
1671. " — The Footes of Larrabesso. As you enjoy the good 
cheer of mine host, do not forget that in this house was born 
" Samuel Foote the alderman, alias the Alderman Samuel 
Foote, " the comedian and wit of whom we used to read in 
"The Columbian Orator," known as the English Aristoph- 
anes. Near by is St. Ives, of Adams' old arithmetic 
memory — 

As I was going to St. Ives, 
I met a man with seven wives. 
Every wife had seven sacks, 
Every sack had seven cats, 
And every cat had seven kits. 
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, 
How many were going to St. Ives ? 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 127 

Not far away is the celebrated rookery of Tragothian, 
whither come clouds of birds from Land's End. The rookery 
so graphically described in Braccbridge Hall, is nothing to 
Tragothian. Thomas Wilde Truro was born in London in 
1782. He was appointed lord chancellor and raised to the 
peerage as Baron Truro in 1850. Died 1855. 

Truro River, sometimes called the beautiful land-locked lake, 
has been compared by Queen Victoria, " a combination of 
grandeur and sylvan beauty to resemble both the Rhine and 
the Danube, something like the Tamar, but almost finer, 
winding between banks entirely wooded with stinted oaks 
and full of numberless creeks. " 

"Grongar Hill," by Dyer, an old English poet, is a fine 
description of the scenery on Truro River and vicinity. 
Trees crowd so near the steep banks as not to leave standing 
room. The river proper is about two miles long, opening 
into Falmouth Harbor, one of the most magnificent in the 
world, which Sir H. James pronounces as exactly the centre 
of the habitable portion of the earth's surface. The distance 
between Truro and Falmouth by water is about twelve miles. 
The pretty little steamer Resolute plies daily, making most 
delightful trips. One need not go far in England to see the 
grand homes of the Lords of the Isle. 

On this bold brow, a lordly tower; 
In that soft vale, a lady's bovver; 
On yonder meadow far away, 
The turrets of a cloister gray. 

Among the many fine estates in the suburbs of Truro, 
that of Tragothian, belonging to Edward Boscawan, Sixth 
Viscount Falmouth, overlooking the river and bay to the 
channel, commands, perhaps, the best scenery in England. 
It embraces thousands of acres of forest, miles of well- 
kept parks and velvet lawns with wooded river banks. The 
old Church of Key now belongs to the grounds. The high 
tower and gate-houses, the great mansion with porches and 
turrets, tall chimneys and ivied walls, are unmistakable 
evidence of the inherited wealth and titles of an English 



128 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

nobleman. On an ancient brass in the Church of Key, is this 
inscription : 

Sere lieth John Trenowgth, squeyer, the which dep'td the 
xiii day of March, the yere of oiirr lord god m.cccclxxxijx the 
yere of King hary the vij the viij on whose sold Ihn have 
mercy — amen Ind ' no co ' fido. " 

The city of Falmouth, from the river Fal, formerly Penny 
gwin quic (the head of the creek) is nicely nestled along the 
shore, with one main street, not unlike Provincetown. Being 
the same distance by rail, and nearly the same by water, as 
Truro from Provincetown, with fishing craft of all kinds, 
coasters and larger vessels, and a broad, open harbor, the 
association was quite natural. Passing down the river 
and bay, baronial castles and elegant villas crown the bold 
heights. 

They have their history of saint and sinner, love and hate, 
glory and shame. The frowning walls of Pendennis and 
St. Maws, perched two hundred feet on the steep cliffs, the 
lighthouse, the spacious harbor, with shipping of all flags, 
is a beautiful picture. Within the ancient walls of Pendennis 
Castle, kings and queens have found safety. It was here 
Sir John Arundel in his eighty-seventh year withstood one of 
the severest sieges on record, and by his gallant defence 
gained the name of "game to his toe-nails." 

Not far away is Mousehole, where, in 1774, the Cornish 
language was last spoken by Dolly Pentreath. Deiv an 
Tas Olgallasak — God the Father Almighty. By a better 
acquaintance with Cornwall, we begin to suspicion where 
many of the words and barbarisms, so at war with the King's 
English, had their origin on the Cape. We instance housen, 
for house, quite common among a few of the old people less 
than fifty years ago ; banger for very large ; million for melon ; 
sheer for share, as half a sheer ; sight for a good many, as a 
sight of 'em ; bagnet for bayonet ; puss, nuss, and wuss, for 
purse, nurse, and worse ; chaney for china, chimbley for chim- 
ney, and many kindred expressions, some of which still linger, 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 



129 



all of which are in use in some parts of Cornwall. Mouse- 
hole is the little town made almost famous by being the 
birthplace, in 1750, of William Carvosso, the Methodist local 
preacher, who produced a moral revolution in Cornwall, and 
whose influence moved the religious life of England. 

In many respects, Cornwall is the most interesting portion 




A BARONIAL CASTLE. 



of England, and demands a passing notice. Where so much 
is to be seen and known, it is a difficult task to say as little 
as belongs to this connection. Rut some understanding of 
Cornwall is important to a better understanding of our 
people. 

An old traveller wrote : " Cornwall is the complete and 
replete Home of Abundance, for high churlish hills, and 



i 3 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

affable, courteous people. The country hath its share of 
huge stones, mighty rocks, noble, free gentlemen, bountiful 
housekeepers, strong and stout men, handsome and beau- 
tiful women." Two hundred years later, another continues : 
" Its men are sturdy, bold, honest, and sagacious ; its women 
lovely and modest, courteous and unaffected." The women 
of Cornwall have from time immemorial enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of great personal beauty. The "half-foreign" beauty, 
especially their fair complexion, is readily recognized by 
travellers. The atmosphere is remarkably soft and even. 
The rainfall forty-five inches annually. 

Lundy's Island is an almanac for the fishermen, and has 
passed into a Cornish rhyme : — 

When Lundy is high, it will be dry; 
When Lundy is plain, it will be rain; 
When Lundy is low, it will be snow. 

Physically, the Cornish were a fine race. " Lord Bacon 
said, " They were wont to draw a strong and mighty bow, 
the length of a taylor's yard." A Cornish regiment of 
militia covered more ground than any other county in 
England. Wilkie Collins says: "They are industrious and 
intelligent, sober and orderly, neither soured by hard work, 
nor depressed by privations. ... I never met with so 
few grumblers. The views of the working men are remark- 
ably moderate and sensible." 

Their language has been called one of "mysterious 
antiquity," but race and situation have determined the 
character of the people. Says an historian : " Such is the 
land of the ancient Cornish Britons, that small, but strangely 
characteristic Celtic race, about whom so much has been 
dreamed by the learned, and so little is really known." 

A strong tinge of superstition pervaded ancient Cornwall. 
At the present day much of the marvellous lingers among 
the fishermen and miners. The air is full of old ballads, 
fables, legends, charms, evil eyes, pixies and fairies. Worse 
things than a mild superstition might befall a people. A 
popular professor of Harvard said lately before the Lowell 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 



r 3* 



Institute, that " It must be granted that, with all our gains, 
we have sustained a loss in the decay of our superstitious 
beliefs." 

Dosmery Pool is among the bleakest and most desolate 
moors of England. Here lived Tregeagle, who, the legend 
says, made a league with the devil, and sold his soul one 
hundred years for a bag of gold. Ever since that ill-fated 
time, every night the devilj with his hell-hounds, chases 
Tregeagle across the dreadful moors. His howlings can be 




DOSMERY POOL. 



heard now, in the terrible stormy nights. Every clay Treg- 
eagle has to return to his task of dipping out the Pool with 
a limpet (mussel) shell, weaving ropes of sand, and making 
up accounts that always have a sixpence mistake. 

This was the home of Jack the Giant-killer, and many 
exploits of his prowess are supported by tradition. At 
Trelawn is an old earthwork called the " Giant's Hedge," 
said to be the work of Jack the Giant, to keep him from 
idleness. It is built from Laureath to Lostwithal, seven 
miles. 



Jack the Giant had nothing to do, 

So he built a hedge from Lenin to Lowe. 



'32 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



Not much less a fabled personage than Jack the Giant 
was King Arthur. Merivale says, " Every trader and small 
^rmer west of Truro is fully persuaded of two things : one, 




THE SANDS OF DARK TINTEGAL BY THE CORNISH SEA. 

that he will some day make his fortune in a mine ; the other, 
that he is in some way descended from King Arthur." 
Tintegal (the impregnable fortress) was the home of the 
blameless king. Here he held his court, and here the 
Knights of the Round Table assembled. From Tintegal 
Arthur sallied out to meet the traitor Modred. The people 
believed in boiled thunderbolt (a rare stone) in much the 
same way that our fishermen believed that a nape bone taken 
from a live haddock and carried in the pocket, would prevent 
rheumatism. 

It was of that notable Cornish giant Bellerus, that Milton 
wrote in Lycidas 

Sleep'st by the fable of Bellerus old, 

Where the great vision of the guarded Mount 
Looks toward Nomancos and Bayona hold. 

Land's End, early known as Pen-von-las — the end of the 
earth — the ancient Bolerium — the westernmost point of 
England, is granite rock sixty feet high. Stern, solemn and 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 



i33 



magnificent stands the bare, bleak promontory. Here Charles 
Wesley stood when he wrote the well-known hymn — 

Lo, on a narrow neck of land 
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand! 

At this Promethean fountain the Muses are wont to dip 
their pens : 

The dark blue sky closed round 

And rested like a dome 
Up n the circling waste. — Thalaba. 

On the summit of the cliff a little inn has lately been 
erected. About one mile inland, at the village of Senner, is 
the " First-and-last-inn-in-En gland. " Near is a large stone 
which was a dining-table for seven kings about thirteen 
hundred years ago. Deponent sayeth not who were the 
kings. 

Another royal personage was " Old King Cole, that Jolly 
old Soul," while Jack with the lanthorn (Jack o' Lantern ) 
and Jack and the Bean-stalk all belong to the same mystic 
crew. Two miles away, 
plainly seen in the pic- 
ture, is Longship's 
Lighthouse ; the Scilly 
Islands twenty-five 
miles. Certain it is that 
the line between Celt 
and Saxon can be traced 
by an unchanged no- 
menclature for more 
than a thousand years. 
The quaintness and 
melodiousness of these 
names, so different from 
all other parts of Eng- 
land, is a great charm. That such a people, "rooted from an 
antiquity contemporary with the old Phoenicians, " should be 
self-reliant and self-respectful, with great love of adventure, is 




LANDS END — LONOSHtP S T.IOHTHOUSE. 



134 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

not surprising. They have been more independent and less 
led by the popular tide or political partisans, than other Eng- 
lishmen, sometimes declaring against the government, but 
twice during the civil wars rescued the royal cause. They 
rebelled against a tax to pay for the war with Scotland, but 
opposed Cromwell ; this was their note : — 

I'll bore a hole in Cromwell's nose, 

And therein put a string, 
And lead 'em up and down the town 

For murdering Charles our King. 

Several things may be learned by a visit to England. My 
experience and observation at an election for a member of 
Parliament opened my eyes in that direction. I give the 
benefit of the same to my readers. 

I left Blackfriars on the evening of September 25, during a 
London black rainstorm, and landed in Truro the next 
morning at sunrise. A fairer autumn sun never smiled upon 
Cornwall. 

I had learned before leaving London that an election for a 
new member of Parliament was to take place that day, an 
event I was anxious to witness. Leading politicians from 
most all parts of the Island, and the gentry of the neigh- 
boring counties, are usually present when important elections 
take place. 

" London, " said I, in answer to two gentlemen who joined 
me, and inquired where from ? as I left the railroad carriage. 
" Which side ? " they continued, presuming I was an Eng- 
lishman and had come from London to assist my friends. I 
evaded this question by Yankee privilege, and learned my 
interlocutors were from Barnstable, and had come down by 
the early train to help on the work. Am I in England or 
Massachusetts ? A new member under ordinary circum- 
stances causes considerable excitement. But this was an 
intensely exciting election, and party lines were sharply 
drawn. The former member, a Conservative, had died, and 
the new candidates were fair rivals. The Eastern question 
and Lord Beaconsfield's policy afforded abundant materia] 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 135 

for the Liberal party. The canvass was unusually active, 
hot, and bitter beyond anything I have known at home. As 
an illustration of the popular spirit we quote from the 
placards : — 

LIBERAL MORALITY. 



TO THE ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF TRURO. 



Brother Electors : 

I find the Liberals are endeavoring to induce you to break your promises, on 
the ground that it has been stated with apparent authority that a man may prom- 
ise one thing and do another! This is positively WICKED. I cannot believe 
that such a thing was ever meant; it must have been wrongly reported or misun- 
derstood. Truth and Honour and Honesty are the proud boasts of Englishmen, 
and the sacredness of a man's word is over and over again enforced in the Scrip- 
cures. 

AN ENGLISHMAN'S WORD IS HIS BOND. How can we look our 
neighbour in the face and stand erect as honest men if we promise one thing and 
do another ? 

Let us despise and trample upon such Jesuitry, SPURN THE TEMPTER 
and 

STICK TO OUR PLEDGES. 

yours truly 

AN ELECTOR. 
Truro, September 25th, 1878. 

LIBERAL TRICKS. 



TO THE WORKING MEN OF THE CITY OF TRURO. 



BROTHER CHIPS, 

The Liberals are trying on a Game in order to deceive us and to CATCH 
VOTES under FALSE PRETENCES. They say if two Conservatives are 
elected the Representation will be handed over to the Conservatives for an 
indefin.te time, and there will be no election again for twenty or thirty years. 
Don't believe it. It 's all gammon. The exact opposite is the fact. If we send in 
a Liberal we shall fall back into the old " ONE-AND-ONE " RUT, from which 
COLONEL HOGG rescued us. Both sides will " rest and be thankful," as in 
the days of Ennis Vivian and Turner, and similar comfortable arrangements. 

No. When a Liberal talks to you like that ask him to " teach his grandmother 
to suck eggs," or to tell his tale to the Horse Marines. We are old birds and 
not to be caught with chaff. 

A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK. 

Truro, Sept. 25th, 1878. 



136 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

All business was suspended. Men and boys in holiday 
dress, with a bit of ribbon indicating their party, in their 
button-holes, thronged the streets. The rival parties had 
their headquarters respectively at the "Royal" and "Red 
Lyon, " where beer flowed like water. In the square between 
the two houses, the crowd surged like a sea from morning 
till night. They chaffered and threatened and roared and 
laughed. As fresh bulletins were scattered among them, they 
cheered and groaned as men of the buskins and broad chests 
only know how. The broadest freedom and downright good 
nature generally prevailed. Free refreshments were supplied, 
and though rivers of drink and mountains of food disap- 
peared, I saw little drunkenness. The esquires, knights and 
titled military gentlemen had a private room. I suspect they did 
not all drink beer. Thousands came from the neighboring 
towns and joined in the excitement. Altogether, it was such 
a day as can be found only at an English husting. 

After the result was declared, the two candidates appeared 
upon the balcony of the Royal. The defeated handsomely 
congratulated the winning man, Col. Arthur Tremain, and he 
in return thanked the other for his gentlemanly course and 
freedom from personality through the unusually exciting cam- 
paign. Then the crowd that still packed the square cheered 
again and again and made the welkin ring. 

Colonel Sir James M'Gard Hogg, a former member from the 
borough, said the night before the election, addressing the 
Conservatives, " That election proved to me that the words 
of the electors of Truro were truthful, and that when a Truro 
man looked you straight in the face, and gave you his hand — 
whether that hand was hard or soft — the grip of the hand 
and the look of the eye bespoke truth and candor. {Terrific 
applause. ) The promises given on that occasion were amply 
f ulfiled at the polls. ( Loud cheers. ) 

Cornwall is a land of natural curiosities, some of which 
are scarcely distinguishable from art. There are stones of 
every conceivable shape and felicity of name, with beautiful 
and wonderful legends. Stone crosses sometimes ten feet 
high, richly ornamented with Runic and relieved by designs 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 137 

of tracery, are found in all parts. Their use is said to 
denote primitive Christianity. Says an old writer: " For 
this reason ben croysses by ye way, that when folk passnygne 
see ye croysses they shoulde thinke on Hym that deyed on 
ye croysse and worshippe Hym above al thyng." It is sup- 
posed they were erected to guard and guide the way to 
Church, and the Christian practice of leaving on the crosses 
alms for the poor. 

Here are vast amphitheatres and ruins of the ancient 
Britons and Romans. One of these natural amphitheatres 
at Gwennap, was John Wesley's famous pulpit. Here he 
preached on his first visit in 1743, and his last in 1 78 1, when 
he said, " I believe two or three and twenty thousand were 
present. I shall scarce see a larger congregation till we 
meet in the air." Holy wells are not infrequent. One at 
St. Clear was used for ducking lunatics. Another, St. 
Priam's, passing through the cleft of a rock, would cure 
children of rickets. At Trelawn is the wonderful well of St. 
Keyne, a holy virgin of 490. Carew describes this well : — 

The person of that man or wife 

Whose choice or chance attains 
First of the sacred stream to drink, 

Thereby the mastery gains. 

Southey also wrote a fine ballad upon St. Keyne. 

Cornwall is the paradise of tourists ; it would take a book 
to describe them. Some who, like old Hugh Miller, with 
wallet swung over their shoulder, and mallet in hand, find 
"Sermons in stones and good in everything." Hosts of 
others visit for charming scenery, good entertainment and 
healthful exercise. Said the late Dean of Canterbury : — 

There is a charm in the Cornish coast that belongs to no other coast in the 
world. The air you breathe has never been vitiated by human beings since it 
left the Yankees. And the rocks ? From the green and scarlet of the serpen- 
tine at the Lizard to Hartland Point and Devon, there is not a cliff that is not a 
study for form and color. Shall I speak of the Cornish seas ? There is no 
sea in Europe which equals the gorgeous clear green of the waters at the Lizard, 
with its deep ultramarine shadows beneath, and the occasional flecks of scarlet as 
the veins of serpentine are seen shimmering in the sun. 



i38 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



All tourists testify to the hospitality and frankness of all 
classes of the people. Natural and unaffected, ready to im- 
part and receive information, shy and curt towards the 
pretentious and haughty only, they possess that true 

politeness of which we see 
so little, and the world is 
so much in need ; that 
costs nothing, but adds so 
much comfort to giver and 
receiver. 

Nowhere can the tradi- 
tional English inn of mine 
host Boniface be found 
nearer the old type than 
in Cornwall Such an one 
is Sam Gilbert in the little 
coast town of Mawgan 
(Mor gan by the sea), near 
St. Colomb. 

Gilbert's clever ways 
and stock of Cornish lore 
are known through all the 
county round. His little 
inn with fresh whitewashed walls, white-scrubbed and white- 
sanded oaken floors, brick-paved kitchen, with the spit turn- 
ing the juicy joint by the fire, a bountiful table, not without a 
pewter mug of beer for those who wish, cream — clotted cream 
— and pastry such as is only found in Cornwall, are some of 
the attractions at Mawgan. The greatest attraction, however, 
of Mawgan is Sam Gilbert. 

The cleanest place I have ever seen, Cape Cod always 
excepted, is Cornwall. Here are found the nice and happy 
old customs of our mothers, which we remember with so 
much pleasure and pride, and which moisten our eyes to 
review. Such snow-white bedding made fragrant by roses 
from the garden. Such sweet-scented herbs as are tied here 
and there, and bountiful branches of fresh-gathered flowers, 
such shining Delft and pewter, and such a willingness to serve, 




THE TYPICAL JOLLY LANDLORD. 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 139 

tempt even a stranger to endure such homes. It is said the 
devil dare not go to Cornwall for fear they will put him in 
a pie. Pastry, or pie, is as universal as on Cape Cod, only 
of more variety. We need not wonder how we came by the 
art. 

The typical pastry for the working men is meat and pota- 
toes in crust. Pies are also made of eels and pilchards. As 
the heads press through the crust, they are called " star- 
gazers. " At the table of a Truro minister who politely 
invited me to dine with him, three varieties of pie were 
served without the star-gazers. Robin Hood had perhaps 
lived in Cornwall and cultivated his taste for pastry for which 
he so belabored friar Henry. 

"Fish, tin, and copper," was the standing Cornish toast. 
Fishing, mining and farming are the employments of the 
people. Mining began before the Phoenicians. At one time 
all the tin of commerce came from Cornwall. The product 
of copper has been immense ; some of the mines penetrate 
under the ocean, and the surface of the land is frightfully 
disfigured in the mining districts. Tall chimneys, huge stacks 
of earth, flumes and derricks stand thick. Both fishermen 
and miners, however, are jack-of-all-trades ; he builds his 
house, makes shoes for the family, is cooper, blacksmith and 
farmer, perhaps keeps a little shop, and sometimes is a 
Methodist local preacher. Barring the Methodist preacher, 
this is a good description of Cape Cod men in my father's 
day. 

Startling stories and strange traditions are told of fisher 
men and smugglers whose spectral boats lurked in the deep 
creeks and handy coves of these bold promontories. Smug- 
gling and wrecking, which was a kind of piracy, and from 
which has come the famous " Penzance Pirates," abounds in 
old yarns, half of which, if true, would reflect no credit on 
the bold, fearless men, always found to embark in such con - 
traband, but exciting employment : — 

Blow wind and rise sea, 
Ship ashore 'fore day. 



140 



TR UR O — CAPE COD. 



From time immemorial till the late establishment of life- 
saving stations, there were always men on the Cape, who 
from love of the excitement and the slight prospect of a prize, 
just as some men from love of the chase will undergo great 
hardship, so these men would leave comfortable homes 
before daybreak, and brave the fircest storms and coldest 
weather to visit the Back Side (the Atlantic beach). Two 
or three or more would sometimes meet at the bank. One 




SHIP ASHORE 'FORE DAY. 

or more would follow the surf line north, the other south, till 
another patrol was met, with whom the news of the morning 
was exchanged, what had been found, etc., when each would 
return. Though not intended, and no system maintained, 
yet really they composed a kind of volunteer unarmed coast- 
guard, or what under the government service is now called 
the patrol, which in bad weather kept up a communication 
all along the shore. The old foot-paths, worn deep above the 



TRURO OLD AND NEW. 141 

banks where these hardy men crossed over are now plainly 
seen winding along the hills and valleys. This custom was 
known as "mooning," or "moon cursing," which is from a 
tradition from the old country of piratical crews who used to 
decoy vessels on the rocks by false lights, and cursed the 
moon when she disturbed their hellish work. These customs 
are all intimated in the stories which are told of old Corn- 
wall life hundreds of years ago. 

Large quantities of oysters and fish are caught on the 
coasts and bays of Cornwall, which find a ready sale in the 
London market, but the fish of Cornwall is the pilchard, 
which seems peculiar to this part of the coast. Pilchard 
to the value of ^60,000 were caught in one day at St. Ives. 
When they fail to make an annual visit, distress prevails 
throughout the county. They are a species of herring 
much thicker and finer; and when "scrowled" and eaten at 
the nick of time, are delicious. It was my good fortune to be 
at Penzance just at the right time, and can testify to their 
quality. Four riding a tier, to each plate, is the rule at the 
Victoria Hotel. The old adage is — 

When the corn is in the shock, 
The fish are off the rock. 

Much interest and anxiety are manifest when they are due. 
A constant watch is kept to give notice of their appearance, 
which is indicated by clouds of seafowl. The watch from 
lookouts on the cliffs are called huers (shout). When the 
fish are discovered, they shout Heva ! (found.) Then a 
stampede begins, with which the cry for blackfish is nothing ; 
for the whole town moves, and perhaps a thousand boats fly 
in hot pursuit. 

We have referred to three places by the name of Truro ; all 
other known places by this name in the world, can be soon 
mentioned. A town in Ohio, settled by a small colony from 
Truro, N. S. Population in 1844, eleven hundred. There is 
also a post-office in a small town by this name in Knox 
County, Illinois." But the most important, and that which 
perhaps makes the name most illustrious, is old Truro Parish 



1 42 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

in Virginia, five miles from Mount Vernon, where stands the 
Old Polick Church of Truro Parish, of which George Wash- 
ington was the first vestryman on the list. His name could 
be seen in gilt letters upon one of the pew doors, before the 
last war, which changed Polick Church to a picket post. 

The name was bestowed by the Cockburn family, who came 
from Truro in Cornwall. The last church was completed in 
1769. The first rector was an intimate at Mount Vernon. 
His salary was ,£650, paid in tobacco, the Virginia leaf, 
then bringing eighty cents per pound in Europe. If the 
truth has been told, he was equally versed in theology and 
cards, and as ready for the race-course as the pulpit. " To 
the door of Truro Parish Church, the Mount Vernon coach 
driving four, with liveried coachman and footman, and with 
the ancient arms of de Hertburn emblazoned on the panel, 
drew up amid a crowd of powdered beaus, who vied with each 
other for the honor of handing Mrs. Washington from her 
coach. " Nor was this the only grand turnout that drove up 
to Polick Church in Truro Parish. These were grand days 
in the Old Dominion. 

Truro Parish is now known as the village of Accotuck, 
founded in 1850 by a flourishing colony of New England 
Quakers. 

Since writing the above, the new station of Truro has 
been established on the Des Moines, Osceola and St. Louis 
railroad of which Benjamin L. Harding, a native of Truro, is 
president. A street in Boston has also lately received this 
name. 




THE MEETING-HOUSE ON THE HILL OF STORMS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TRURO. 

The Hill of Storms. The Spirit of Elia. Ruling Elders. T.he Great Landmark 
Fundamentals and Magna Charta. Error of Historians. The First Meeting-house. 
• ialleries. Fasts Established. First Pew-Holders. Puritan Architecture. The 
Book of Common Prayer. Rev. Phillips Brooks. 

The chirk brown years have passed over it. Tt stands alone on the hill of 
storms ! It is seen afar by the mariner as he passes by on the dark-rolling 
wave. — From the Massachusetts Gazeteer. 

THE meeting-house no longer stands on the hill of storms, 
but the spot consecrated by the dust of generations is 
here, and in spirit I see its high walls and double row of win- 
dows. I tread its aisles ; I gaze upon the sounding-board sus- 
pended like Mahomet's coffin ; I hear the hymns of David, and 
listen to the tender prayers and "sweetest mind" of Christ's 
servants ; in spirit I am with the author of Elia : 

Woulds't thou know the beauty of holiness? Go alone on some week day, 
borrowing the keys of the good master sexton; traverse the cool aisles of some 
country church; think of the piety that has knelt there — the congregations, old 
and young, that have found consolation there ; the meek pastor — the docile 
parishioners — with no disturbing emotions, no cross conflicting comparisons, 
drink in the tranquility of the place, till thou thyself become as fixed and 
motionless as the marble effigies that kneel and weep around thee. 

14.1 



i 4 4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

I see the ruling elders and deacons, and the Christian 

mothers. 

There they sit 

In reverence meet ; 
Many an eye to heaven is lifted, 

Meek and very lowly, 
Souls bowed down with reverent fear. 

Hoary-headed elders moving, 
Bear the hallowed bread and wine, 
While devoutly still the people 
Low in prayer bow the head. 

— From Kiltnahoe, quoted by Dean Stanley. 

For one hundred and twenty years the old meeting-house 
"in Truro, standing on the "wind-swept plain," was the great 
landmark of Cape Cod. For nearly a hundred years before a 
lighthouse had lifted its white pillar to guide by day, or 
thrown out its welcome light by night on all the coast, this 
temple of our fathers stood bold and shapely on the lonely 
height. Seen first as the mariner strained his eyes toward 
the desired land, and last as with thoughts of kindred and 
hearthstone, it faded from his watchful gaze — perhaps for the 
last time. It stood near the southwest corner of the present 
graveyard, facing the south, according to the custom of those 
days. The heavy white-oak frame was cut on the spot, and 
when the old meeting-house was demolished in 1840, the tim- 
ber was as sound as when raised. 

Say, ancient edifice, thyself with years 

Grown gray, how long upon the hill has stood 

Thy weather-braving tower, and silent mark'd 

The human leaf in constant bud and fall ? 

The generations of deciduous man, 

How often hast thou seen them pass away. — Hurdis. 

The first general laws of Massachusetts colony were called 
" Fundamentals." A comparison with the Magna Charta 
and Common Law of England may be interesting in connec- 
tion with the history of the Church. 



FIRST CHURCH IN TRURO: 145 

Magna Charta : — The Church shall enjoy all her liberties. 

Fundamentals : — All persons orthodox in judgment and not scandalous in life 
may gather into a Church estate according to the rules of. the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. Such may choose and ordain their own officers, and exercise all the 
ordinances of Christ, without any injunction in doctrine, worship, or discipline. 

Magna Charta: — No man shall be condemned but by lawful trials; justice 
shall not be sold, deferred, nor delayed to any man. All men's liberties and 
customs shall be free. 

Fundamentals : — No man's life, honour, liberty, wife, children, goods or estate, 
shall be taken away, punished, or damaged under color of law or countenance of 
authority, but by an express law of the General Court, or in defect of such, by 
the word of God, etc. Every person within this jurisdiction shall enjoy the 
same justice and law without partiality or delay. All lands and hereditament 
shall be free from all fines, forfeitures, etc. Every man may remove himself and 
his family if there be no legal impediment. 

Tke Common Law of England : — The supreme authority is in the High Court 
of Parliament. 

Fundamentals: — The highest authority here is in the General Court, both by 
our Charter and by our positive laws. 

The history of the first meeting-house in Truro is only 
known indirectly. It is remarkable that while the records of 
the town are generally quite full, they are silent as the grave 
touching positively the first house of worship. Hence Mr. 
Freeman and others have accepted the tradition that the first 
meeting-house stood in the Pond Village, near the present 
church, where several graves have been discovered, and which 
gave ground to the report. I have been informed by people now 
living, that these graves were well known by people of the last 
generation, and that there has always been a tradition that they 
were of persons who died before the public yard was laid out 
on the hill. The first reference to the meeting-house is found 
in the Act of Incorporation, July 16, 1709. 

And whereas, the inhabitants of said District, by their humble petition, have 
set forth that they have built a convenient house to meet in for the worship of 
God, and have for some time had a minister among them. 

The next reference is — 

May 29, 1710, it was agreed upon by said town, that the town-treasurer should 
as socn as he can with conveniency, buy a cushion for the pulpit in the meet- 
ing-house, and an hour glass, and a box to put them in, and to pay for them out 



146 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

of the Town Treasury, and the selectmen are hereby ordered to add to the next 
town rate so much as they shall come to. 

Voted by said town. Attest, THO : PAINE. Town Clerk. 

The third reference is nearly two years later : — 

February the 12th and 13th we laid out a road from ye northeast corner of ye 
meeting-house, to go near northeast through ye woods and to come into the 
road that leads through Tashmuit neighborhood, where the Rev. Mr. 
Avery, with the advice of Mr. Cook and the gentlemen of the neighborhood, 
shall think it most convenient. 

THO: PAINTE. Town Clerk. 

The next three cover six years. — 

At a town meeting at ye meeting-house in Truro, June 23, 1712, Captain Paine 
ye Town Clerk, being absent, the town then made choice of Thomas Paine Jr., 
to serve as Clerk, to serve for the day, and he did serve accordingly. 

At a meeting, May 22, 1713, voted that the selectmen should take care to have 
a convenient piece of ground cleared on the north side of the meeting-house in 
Truro, for a burying-place, and the charge be paid out ot the Town Treasury. 

March 31, 17 18, at a town meeting in Truro, said town agreed with Isaac Cole 
to sweep the meeting-house one year next ensuing for sixteen shillings in money, 
to be paid to said Cole out of ye town treasury. 

The following is the last reference, and closes the known 
history of the first Truro meeting-house : — 

At a town meeting convened and held for the choice of town offices and other 
business notified in the warning for said meeting in March 23, 1719, said town 
granted liberty to Nathaniel Atkins, Thomas Smith and Jeremiah Bickford, 
and such others as shall go in with them, to build upon their own cost and 
charge, three galleries in the meeting-house, in said town, over the old galleries, 
and for so doing to be admitted to the same privilege in the whole house with 
the first builders. 

Witness, THO : PAINE. Clerk for the time. 

These several references incontrovertibly establish these 
facts : — That a convenient meeting-house was built as early 
as 1709 — that additional furniture was added in 17 10 — that 
the house was located southwest from Tashmuit (which 



FIR ST CHUR CH IN TR UR O. 1 47 

proves the original locality), and that the graveyard was on 
the north side. That in 1713 (which is the earliest date 
found on any gravestone in the yard) it was cleared and pre- 
pared for making interments. That a sexton was employed 
in 1718 at a fixed salary, and that in 1719 the people had so 
far outgrown the original house, that it was deemed necessary 
to enlarge by building galleries. 

From these facts and the general history, it seems evident 
that the first house was built quite soon after the settlement, 
and that the preaching of the ministers referred to from time 
to time on trial and otherwise, was in this house, and that it 
was here Mr. Avery was ordained. 

No further reference is made to the " new galleries," but at 
a town meeting, October 3d, 1720 — 

Said town agreed to build a meeting-house in said town of Truro, twenty-two 
feet in the height of the walls and forty feet in length, and thirty-six feet in 
breadth, said house to be built and finished within the space of one year next 
ensuing, in order whereinto said town made choice of Captain Thomas Paine 
Esq., Captain Constant Freeman, and John Snow, a committee to make propo- 
sitions for said building as soon as may be with conveniency, and also to agree 
with workmen in behalf of the town to frame and finish said building. 

At same meeting said town gave orders to the selectmen to make a tax or 
assessment on the polls and estates of the inhabitants of said town, of three 
hundred and fifty pounds to pay the charge of the above said building, said rate 
or assessment, by the last of October instant, and to be paid into the above said 
committee or agents, one half of it by the first day of April next, and the other 
half by the last day of September next. 

While the records so carefully refer to the new building, it 
will be noticed that no reference is made to the site, which is 
conclusive evidence that the house of 1720 was built on the 
original site, or where stood the first house. 

August 14, 1721, the town voted that all the money paid for the privilege of 
building a pew, should be improved towards the building said house. The pew 
room, however, not to be sold less than thirty pounds, nor more than forty 
pounds. Voted, to proceed now to sell the sites for pews in the new meeting- 
house. 

No. I. At the right hand as you No. 2. At the left hand to 

. ., • j r . . • Tno. Snow, "J.oo 

go in at the door to Captain J 

Constant Freeman for £>S' XQ No. 3. To Michael Atwood, 3.05 



148 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



No. 4. To Jona. Paine, 
No. 6. To Jno. Myrick, 
No. 7. To Thos. Paine, 



£3.15 No. S. To Thos. Smith, 2.15 

2.15 No. 9. To Michael Gross, 2.15 

2.15 No. 11. To Jed. Lombard, 3.15 



The town voted liberty to Mr. John Avery to build a pew in the new meeting- 
house, on the left hand of the going up of the pulpit stairs. 

Voted, that all the room below (except the deacons' seats and minister's pew) 
be filled up with pews by such persons as will be at cost of the room and build- 
ing said pews. 

The committee for the sale reported August 23d, the three 
other plots, or places, whereon to build pews have been sold 
as follows : 



No. 5. To Phebe Paine, ^1.15 No. 10. To Joshua Paine, 

No. 12. To Jona. Vickery, ^£3-05 



115 



Total amount for purchase of pew room, ^39. 

September 25, 1721, the town agreed to take its part of the fifty pounds in 
Bills of Credit, issued by the Province, and " to improve the same towards 
building of the meeting-house now begun — excepting such part as belongs to 
the inhabitants of Cape Cod, which part we agree to let the said inhabitants 
have, provided they give sufficient security for the same. '* Mess. Jeremiah 
Bickford, Nathaniel Atkins, and Jona. Vickery were appointed trustees to 
receive the town's proportion of the said Bills of Credit lodged in the hands of 
the Province treasurer. To the above appropriation Mr. Thomas Mulford dis- 
sented, giving as a reason that he thought it not agreeable to the Act of the Court. 

In 1765 it was voted to enlarge and remodel the meeting- 
house. The pews in the new house sold as follows : Pew 
Number 



1. To Benj. Collins. It being lo- 
cated immediately on the right 
side of the front door. £ l 9Z 

2. To Joseph Cobb, left side front 
door. 183 

3. To Jos. Atkins, westerly side 

of pulpit. 2I 4 



4. To Rd. Collins, it being the 

old minister's pew. 182 

5. To Isaiah Atkins, next lower 
end of the men's front seat. 170 

6. To Gamaliel Smith, next lower 
end of women's front seats. 174 



FIRST CHURCH IN TRURO. 149 

7. To Thomas Cobb, next to 12. To Rd. Stevens, at lower end 

No. 5. ^"36 of women's hindmost seats. 103 

7. To Anthony Snow, next to 2j^=*These 12 pews on the lower 

No 6. 139 floor were to be finished at the 

town's expense. 

9. To Josh. Knowles, next No. 7 

ti8 The spot for a pew over men's 
stairs sold for ,£11 to Zacheus 

10. To John Rich, next to No. 8 Rich Jr. 

118 

The spot for a pew over women's 

11. To Gamaliel Collins, at lower stairs to the gallery to Joshua 
end of men's hindmost seats. 100 Atkins for j£ 16 



In 1792 more seats were required in the meeting-house, 
and it was ordered that additional pews be built in the 
gallery. 

Sept. 25, 1721 the town voted " that contributions be regularly taken up as soon 
as the new meeting-house is finished, and that the inhabitants as often as they 
contribute, enclose the money so contributed in a piece of paper, with his or her 
name written thereon." 

It was also ordered "that the trustees of the town's fund of bills of credit. 
pay to Mr. Samuel Eldridge £177, and that said Eldridge return to the inhabi- 
tants all that they have paid over one half of what they were rated for the build- 
ing of the meeting-house; he to return the balance to the agents or undertakers 
of the building." 

So deeply seated in the Puritan heart was the sentiment 
that "God's altars need not our polishing," that the sensuous 
elements of religion, beginning with the glory of the taber- 
nacle, the golden mercy-seat, the cunning work of purple and 
scarlet, belonging to the cherubim, committed by God to 
Moses amid the thunders and lightnings of the holy mount, 
with the clustering treasures of four thousand years, were 
cast out and despised as Aaron's golden calf. Instead of 
temples for the worship of God, they built rudely-constructed 
meeting-houses, barren of beauty or comfort, and banished 
instruments of music as a saturnalian device. In all this 
they sinned not, neither did they do God service. Their 
simple forms of worship were surely much more convenient 
and available in their wilderness homes ; and, all things con- 



ISO TRURO— CAPE COD. 

sidered, the change was perhaps advantageous. That it has 
not been sanctioned by the spirit of the age, witness the 
•adoption one by one of these rejected forms, till little remains 
outside of proscribed sacerdotal usages. It could well be said 
of their plain meeting-house : " The architecture was con- 
fined t© no historical period, although possessed of a certain 
dignity and comeliness of its own." From the attractive 
decorations and worshipful forms of the Church of England, 
to the bare walls and simple devotion of the Puritan, "the 
bald simplicity of Geneva," were quite diverging imitations, 
to human appearance, of the Christ life. But the difference 
was often more apparent than real. The Book of Common 
Prayer, composed by the saints of the early Church, and 
never excelled by uninspired pen, was and is a precious aid 
to devotion. The rites and ceremonies, stripped of the 
access and superstition of Rome, were full of spiritual emo- 
tion and holy emulation. Men and women, saints of the 
Most High, have in all ages blossomed with Christian graces, 
and clustered with the fruits of the spirit, under these 
agencies of the Church of God. 

How full the words of the old creed are of rich meaning. How the heat 
of the hot controversy in which they were born, has passed out of them, and 
they are deep and clear and cool as wells that draw their water of refreshment 
from the unheated centre of .he eternal rock. — Rev. Phillips Brooks. 



CHAPTER IX. 
1709 — REV. JOHN AVERY. — 1754. 

The first settled Minister of the Church of Christ in Truro. Thoreau. The Old Min- 
istry. Good History. Great Battles. Town Vote. Acceptance. Agreement. 
Ordination. First Members. First Baptisms. Family History. Harvard College 
Line. Truro Family. Water Springs. Tashmuit — Shawmut. Salary. Dr. 
Freeman's Eulogy. The Parsonage and Smithy. Canterbury Tales. Records. 
Moving Cautiously. Advance in Salary. Old Tenor. An even-spun Life. Draw 
ing to a Close. Assistant. Turner, Upham and Angier. Economy. Preparations 
for Ordination. Death of Mr. Avery. Gravestones. Last Will and Testament. 

THOREAU says, "The readable parts of town histories 
run into a history of the Church of that place, that being 
the only story they have to tell, and conclude by quoting the 
Latin epitaphs of the old pastors, having been written in 
the good old days of Latin and Greek. They will go back 
to the ordination of every minister, and tell you faithfully 
who made the introductory prayer, and who delivered the 
sermon, who made the ordaining prayer, and who gave the 
charge, who extended the right hand of fellowship, and who 
pronounced the benediction, also how many orthodox coun- 
cils convened from time to time to inquire into the orthodoxy 
of some minister, and the names of all that composed them." 
All of which we promise to do, and regret that the scant 
material left on record will not allow us to tell more of such 
men. If the lives of the godly and learned ministers of early 
New England are not good history, we know not where to 
find it. They belong to the country by virtue of their good- 
ness, learning, patriotism, and sterling worth. They fought 
some of the great battles of the world without bloodshed, 

151 



i 5 2 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

and conquered many a peace. Wellington said: "The next 
worst thing to a defeat in battle is a victory." No such 
grinning spectre hovered over victory in the wars Ecclesias- 
tical of New England. The olive branch and laurel entwined 
crowned victor and vanquished. 

Farther on, Thoreau's honesty compels him to say: "Let 
no one think that I do not love the old ministers. They 
were probably the best men of their generation, and they 
deserve that their biographies should fill the pages of the 
town histories." 

In a previous chapter mention has been made of several 
ineffectual efforts by the young Church to secure a learned 
minister. Both Messrs. Eells and Cotton, after preaching 
some years, declined to be settled. 

The name of Mr. John Avery is first introduced in this 
connection : 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Truro, Feb'y. 23, 1709, in 
order to take care about a settlement of ye public worship of God amongst 
them, it was unanimously agreed upon and voted to invite Mr. John Avery (who 
had for some considerable time been employed in the work of the ministry 
among them) to tarry with and settle amongst them in said work of ministrie, 
and for his encouragement and support in said work it was also agreed upon and 
unanimously voted to offer him sixty pounds per annum, and twenty pounds 
towards his building when he shall see cause to build himself a dwelling in the 
said town, and a committee was chosen to inform Mr. Avery of the town's desire 
and offer in the matter, who accordingly forthwith went and delivered their 
message to the aforesaid Mr. Avery, who gave good encouragement of his 
acceptance, but left the result till he had advised with his friends. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of Truro, convened and held at Truro May 8, 
17 10, it was agreed by said proprietors, that if Mr. John Avery shall proceed to 
the now proposed agreement of the inhabitants into an orderly and regular 
settlement and ordination in the work of the Gospel, and shall so continue for 
the space of ten years next ensuing, after settlement and ordination, he shall 
have five and thirty acres of land at Tashmuit alias Clay Grounds. 

THO: PAINE. 

It was voted at the same meeting that there should be an addition made to 
the thirty-four acres of land at Tashmuit, formerly laid out for the minister. 

The same date Mr. John Avery was admitted an allowed inhabitant of the 
town of Truro, provided he settles and continues in the work of the ministry in 
the said town of Truro. Attest, THO : PAINE. Clerk. 



RE V. JOHN A VER Y. 1 53 

At the same meeting May 8th, 1710 : — 

Whereas, it was agreed upon by said proprietors that they would give to the 
first minister settled in the town of Truro, six acres of meadow on the north- 
easterly side of East Harbor; it was agreed that four acres more to make up ten 
acres, which is reserved to be given to Mr. John Avery, provided he settle in the, 
work of the ministry. Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of Truro May 29, 1710, in order to take some 
further care about Mr. Avery's settlement in the work of the ministry in ba-r 
Truro, at which meeting the said inhabitants did again and unanimously mani- 
fest their desires of Mr. Avery's settlement in the work of the ministry in sai'I 
Truro, and the said Mr. John Avery being then present, did accept of said call- 
ing, whereupon said town chose Thomas Mulford, John Snow, and Thomas 
Paine for a committee in their name and behalf, to draw a covenant of agree- 
ment with the said Mr. Avery, pursuant to the propositions made on Feby. 23, 
last past and to sign the same in the Town's behalf : voted. 

Attest, THO: PAINE. Clerk. 

At the same meeting the town ordered the selectmen to make a rate or 
assessment for defraying the charge of the ministry, and other necessary town 
charges arising within the said town, for the present year as soon as may be 
convenient. Attest, THO: PAINE. Town Clerk. 

May 29, 1 710, Thomas Paine, Thomas Mulford and John 
Snow were appointed by the town a committee to draw up an 
agreement with Mr. Avery, and to sign the same on the town's 
behalf. 

AGREEMENT. 

Whereas, The inhabitants of the town of Truro did, at a meeting of said 
town convened and held at Truro, February 23, 1710-11, by unanimous vote, did 
call and invite Mr. John Avery to a settlement in the work of the Gospel Min- 
istry among them : and for his support and encouragement in said work, did 
offer him sixty pounds a year salary, and twenty pounds toward his building 
when he shall see cause to build him a dwelling-house in said town, and sent 
by a Committee to inform the said Mr. John Avery of their desire and offer in 
that matter, as by a record of said town, bearing date February 23, 17 10, mav 
more fully appear; but the said Mr. John Averv deferred his answer until 
another meeting of said town convened and held for that purpose, May 29, 1710, 
where said town did again show by unanimous vote, their earnest desire of the 
said Mr. Avery's settlement among them in the work of the Gospel Ministry ; 
and the said Mr. Avery being then present, did accept of said call : Where- 
upon, said town chose Thomas Mulford, John Snow, and Thomas Paine, a Com- 
mittee, in the name and behalf of the town of Truro, to make a lull arrangement 



154 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



with the aforesaid Mr. John Avery pursuant to their vote at their meeting, Feb- 
ruary 23, 17 10, as by the record of said town, dated May 29, 17 10, may more 
fully appear PURSUANT WHEREUNTO, June 21, 1710, the aforesaid Mr. 
John Avery, for himself and the above named Committee, in the name and 
behalf of the town of Truro agreed as followeth : that is to say, the above 
named Mr. John Avery doth agree for himself that he will, God assisting him 
thereto, settle in the work of the Ministry in the said town of Truro ; and the 
above named Thomas Mulford, John Snow and Thomas Paine, in the name and 
behalf of the aforesaid town of Truro, do agree with the said Mr. John Avery, 
to allow him for a yearly salary during the time of his continuance in the work 
of the ministry, in the aforesaid town of Trnro, sixty pounds per annum in 
money as it shall pass from man to man in common dealing (or in- other mer- 
chantable pay as it shall pass with the merchant in common traffic) at or upon the 
twenty-ninth day of March annually; and twenty pounds of like money, toward 
his building, to be added to his salary, on that year, that he, the said Mr. Avery, 
shall see cause to build himself a dwelling-house in the town of Truro, aforesaid. 
In witness whereof, the above named Mr. John Avery for himself, and the above 
named Committee, in the name and behalf of the town of Truro, have hereunto 
set their hands. 

Signed. JOHN AVERY, \ 

THOMAS PAINE, ! ., ... 

THOMAS MULFORD, f ^ «"«"««'■ 
JOHN SNOW. J 

June 27, 17 10. 

August 13, 1711, the town granted ten pounds to defray the expenses of enter- 
tainment of elders, messengers, scholars and gentlemen, at Mr. Avery's ordina- 
tion, and Lt. Constant Freeman, Hez. Purington and Thos. Paine were appointed 
to superintend the arrangements, and agree with a meet person to provide. It 
was also ordered that Mr. Thomas Paine shall have three pounds to reimburse 
him for money spent in securing the Act of Incorporation, and the services of a 
minister. 

Mr. Avery was ordained November 1, 171 1. The order of 
services follow : The charge was given by the Rev. Mr. 
Nathaniel Stone of Harwich ; the right hand of fellowship 
by the Rev. Mr. Ephraim Little of Plymouth, who was prolo- 
cutor; hands imposed by Mr. Stone, Mr. Little, and Mr. 
Joseph Metcalf of Falmouth ; the ordination sermon was 
preached by Mr. Avery, from "That text 2d Cor. 2-16, who 
is sufficient for these things." It was then the fashion for 
the learned Orthodox ministers to preach their own ordination 
sermons. Why not ? The male members who that day 
united in embodying a Church, were Captain Thomas Paine, 
Lieutenant Constant Freeman, Mr. John Snow, Mr. Hezekiah 




JOHN AVERY. 



RE V. JOHN A VERY. 157 

Doane, Mr. Benjamin Smalley, Mr. Hezekiah Purington and 
Mr. Thomas Mulford ; seven besides the pastor. Around 
these eight men centred the moral power and influence of 
the new town. Mr. Hezekiah Doane was chosen deacon and 
ruling elder, being nominated by the pastor and accepted by 
the Church. He served faithfully in these offices till his 
death, 171 8. January 171 8, Mr. Constant Freeman and Mr. 
John Snow were chosen by the Church to proceed in the 
deaconships. Mr. Freeman served faithfully till January, 
1 726. Mr. John Snow for some irregularity, was never proved 
in the office as a ruling elder. Mrs. Ruth Avery, the wife of 
the pastor, was the first admitted to the church. The first 
baptisms were November 11, 171 1, John, the son of the pastor, 
November 18, 1711, Elisha, son of John Snow, and Solomon, 
son of Josias Cook. 

Rev. John Avery, the first minister settled in Truro, was 
born in Dedham, February 4, 1685-86. He was the son of 
Robert and Elizabeth Lane, and the grandson of Dr. William 
and wife Margaret, who emigrated from England 1650. He 
graduated at Harvard College 1706. Married first, November 
23, 1 7 10, Ruth, daughter of Ephraim and Mary Little, of 
Marshfield. Married second, 1733, Ruth, daughter of Samuel 
and Mercy Knowles of Eastham. Married third, 1748, widow 
Mary Rotch of Truro, or Provincetown, who died 1755. He 
had five sons and four daughters, all born in Truro. 

We here present the John Avery Harvard College Line : 

1. John Avery, b. 16S5. Grad. H. C. 1706, d. in Truro, Apr. 23, 1754, as 
above. 2. Son John Avery, b. in Truro, Aug. 24, 1711. Grad. H. C. 1731, m. 
June 13, 1734, Mary Demming of Boston, three dau. and two sons, d. 1796. A 
Boston Merchant. 3. Son John Avery, b. in Boston, Sep. 2, 1739. Grad. H. C. 
1759, m. April 28, 1769, Mary, dau. Hon. Thomas Cushing; was the first Sect'y of 
Mass., continued in office thirty years. Eight daughters, two sons, d. June 7, 1810 
4. Son John Avery, b. in Boston Feb. 13, 1775. Grad. H. C. 1793, m. Apr. 9, 
1799, Harriet, dau. Henry Howell Williams of Noddle's Island. Both lost at sea 
1801. Left an only child. 5. Son John Avery, b. Jany. 5, 1800. Grad. H. C. 
1S19, m. Mch. 6, 1828, Sarah, dau. Samuel G. Derby of Weston. Had dau. and 
son. 6. Son John Avery, b. in Lowell, Jan. 5, 1830. Grad. H. C. 1850, m. 
Anna Corinne Hodges. Civil Eng., now living in Yonkers. N. V. Three sons. 
7. Son John Avery, b. Sept. 11, 1870. 



158 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

There is no portrait of the first Truro minister. The 
excellent engraving on the other page is of his son, the second 
John Avery, the Boston merchant. Ephraim, 3d son of Rev. 
John, b. in Truro, Grad. H. C. ; settled in the ministry in 
Pomfret, Ct. Dau. Ruth m. Rev. Jona. Parker of Plympton. 
Abigail m. Elisha Lothrop of Conn., afterwards judge. Eliz- 
abeth m. John Draper, a printer of Boston. Robert moved 
to Lebanon, Ct. Job inherited the estate in Truro ; d. there 
at 62, having been a useful and quite prominent citizen. His 
family will appear in the general connection. 

The name is nearly extinct in the male line in Truro and 
Provincetown. John Avery has always been well repre- 
sented in the family connections — at present by Captain 
John Avery Paine, a retired master mariner, lately port 
warden, and John Avery Hughes, retired, both now of Som- 
erville, Mass. ; mothers were both Avery. There may be 
others. 

Dr. James Freeman in his description of Truro, pays the 
following tribute to Mr. Avery : " The inhabitants of Truro 
that personally knew Mr. Avery, speak of him in very 
respectful terms. As a minister he was greatly beloved and 
admired by his people, being a good and useful preacher of 
an examplary life and conversation. As physician he was no 
less esteemed. He always manifested great tenderness for 
the sick, and his people very seriously felt their loss in his 
death." 

From the best evidence we can gather, he was a good 
man, a tender, watchful shepherd of his growing flock, a wise 
councillor, and an excellent citizen. As pastor, doctor, 
lawyer, smith, and farmer, he must have led a busy life, and 
had but little time for speculative philosophy or other outside 
interests. I have found no record, excepting a few Church 
entries, nor a scrap from his pen. All the records are scant, 
touching his long active life. I find he was a subscriber in 
1729, for Prince's Chronology, a popular and expensive work 
of that time, patronized only by men of learning or wealth. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro, May 7, 1718, leave was 
granted to Mr. John Avery to move his fence that stands in 



RE V. JOHN A VER Y. 159 

the watering place at Tashmuit, provided said Avery makes 
as good and convenient a watering place between the former 
watering place and the dwelling house of Josiah Cook. The 
watering place to which this record refers is still used for the 
same purpose as in 171 8. It was on account of this never- 
failing spring and others near by, that supplied the Indians 
in summer's heat and winter's cold, that all this neighbor- 
hood was called by them Tashmuit. In the dialect of the 
Mashpee Indians, askim signifies a spring. In the bounds 
of Sandwich and Falmouth there was an Indian village, 
Ashimuit, or Shumuit, where was a large spring held in 
great esteem by the natives, and is still used by the inhab- 
itants. SJiaum — river — is the old Indian name of Sand- 
wich. There is a spring near the rock, and another near the 
source of the river, or brook, that passes through the village. 
We have also in Mishamuit, a great spring, and in Shazvmut, 
fountains of living water. Words of similar origin and appli- 
cation could be multiplied from these fertile sources, as, 
Ashim, and Multaleshumuit, which contain the compound 
ideas of spring and drink. Hence the derivations : Tashmuit, 
Ashimuit, Ashim, and Shawmut ; all meaning a spring. Shaw 
says in 1800, Blackstone's Spring is yet to be seen on the 
westerly part of the town near the bay. Dr. Shurtleff tells 
the history of the old spring in Spring Lane in his late work. 
When the eastern section of the post-office foundation was 
laid, living fountains of pure water were uncovered, which 
were supposed to be the same. The workmen drank from 
the unfailing supply till the time came to close it again. 
Who shall next roll away that stone and when, is not written. 
Mr. Avery's house was at Tashmuit, Highland, a few rods 
east of the house of Mrs. Rebecca Paine, a short distance 
north of the Highland House, and near the well-known 
spring. It was a two-story house, with ell. The old plaster, 
hard as granite, and bits of thick English glass can now be 
found on the spot. The smithy, where the good minister, 
clad in leather apron, shaped the glowing iron with muscular 
arm, stood just southwest of his house by the road. Clinker.^ 
and slag still mark the place. It is thought that Mr. Avery 



160 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

belonged to a family of smiths, and learned the trade when 
a boy at home. His salary of sixty pounds a year does not 
sound large, but was liberal for the times, and, like Gold- 
smith's village preacher, — 

Who passing rich at forty pounds a year, 

it was undoubtedly regarded a superior living. With a 
comfortable house, land for farming, plenty of wood, timber, 
and meadow, as voted May 29, 1710, and the doctor, lawyer, 
and smith, it is not surprising that he accumulated a fine 
estate, as evidenced by his will. 

This noble example to his flock he gave : 

That first he wrought and afterwards he taught; 

Out of the Gospel he that lessen caught, 

And this new figure added he thereto, 

That if the gold rust what should the iron do ? 

— Prologue to Canterbury Tales. 

July 1723, voted to add ten pounds to Mr. Avery's salary, 
making it £70. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro July 19, 1725, orderly warned for the ends 
set forth in the warrant for calling the same. Mr. Thomas Mulford was chosen 
moderator, and a vote was called whether the town would make any addition to 
the Rev. Mr. Avery's salary for his further support and encouragement in the work 
of the ministry in said town. It passed in the affirmative ; then the question was 
asked whether the town would add so much for the said Mr. Avery's salary, as 
to make it a hundred pounds in the whole. It passed in the negative. 

Then the question was asked whether the town would add so much to the said 
Mr. Avery's salary as to make it ninety pounds in the whole for the year next 
ensuing. It passed in the affirmative by a majority of votes. 

Attest, JOHN SNOW. Town Clerk. 

At a church meeting Oct. 1725 it was proposed to the church by the pastor, 
whether a confession of faith was not more agreeable to the rules of the gospel, 
to be required of those that desired to be admitted to full communion, than a 
relation of experiences ? It was answered in the affirmative, and voted hence- 
forward to be the practice of the church. 

At a church meeting Dec. 29, 1725, it was proposed to the church, whether 
adult persons owning their Baptismal Covenant, and putting themselves under 
the watch and government of the church, should have their children baptized 
tho' they through fears, did not come up to the communion ? Answered in the 
affirmative, and voted to be the practice for the future. 



RE V. JOHN A VER Y. <6i 

As an assurance that this carefully-worded, cautious, but 
nevertheless advance step was not hurried through without 
due consideration, we are assured by a note at the foot of 
the journal that " the church had six weeks' consideration be- 
fore ye vote." 

At a meeting of the church 1726, it was proposed to the church, whether such 
persons, being members of the church, that made practice of selling strong 
drink, contrary to the good laws of the Province, without license, should not be 
looked upon by the church as offenders, and accordingly dealt with. (Being 
left several months before to the Church's consideration.) It was answered in 
the affirmative and so voted. 

At a church meeting, Nov. 30, 1726, it was proposed to the 
church, whether it was not according to gospel rule to choose 
Ruling Elders according to the practice of the Presbyterian 
Church in Scotland. After six weeks' consideration an 
answer was defined by the pastor and was given in the affirm- 
ative. 

In January n, 1727, the persons before nominated (viz.): 
Mr. Thomas Mulford and Mr. Constant Freeman, were 
ordained ruling elders. Mr. John Myrick and Mr. Moses 
Paine were ordained deacons March 31, 1727. Mr. John 
Myrick and Mr. Thomas Paine were chosen ruling elders 
Nov. 13, 1728; ordained 15, 1728. Mr. Jonathan Vickery 
was chosen deacon Nov. 13, 1728. 

June 21, 1730, the town raised Mr. Avery's salary to one 
hundred pounds. In 1747 it was raised by a vote of the town 
to two hundred pounds old tenor. Owing to the depreciation 
in old tenor, the last advance in Mr. Avery's salary was much 
more apparent than real. 

The following memorandum found in the diary of a gen- 
tleman who died in 1756, refers to this early inflation which 
shows history does not go backward. " Men that have sal- 
aries and set fees, have been very much wronged, and it has 
raised the price of almost everything double, and what will be 
the event of it God only knows." The real value of old tenor 
is better understood from a Sandwich record : " In 1749 it 
was voted in Sandwich to extend a call to Mr. Abraham Wil- 
liams, at a yearly salary of 400 pounds O. T., or the payment 



1 62 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

in mill dollars of ^2.5 per dollar." So in 1749, one hun- 
dred pounds were worth about $44.00, or eleven per cent. 

It seems but a little while that we have followed the history 
of this town, and but yesterday when Mr. Avery came among 
them in the strength and freshness of youth. The children 
whom he baptized have become gray-headed fathers, and his 
stricken form gives token that his long useful life is drawing 
to a close ; and that his work is well-nigh done. For forty- 
five years as a minister of the Church of Christ he has con- 
tinued the even thread of an unblemished life. 

" Nov. 6, 1752, it being thought advisable to hire some suit- 
able minister to assist Rev. Mr. Avery in preaching the gospel 
this winter, Mr. Joshua Atkins and Deacon Barnabas Paine 
were appointed to look out for some one. The town agreed 
to bear Deacon Paine's expenses, and the cost of shoeing his 
horse, to go to Barnstable for this purpose, and Mr. Atkins* 
expenses, if he hires a horse and rides out of Boston in pur- 
suit of the same object." It will explain the above action by 
saying that Deacon Paine's trip to Barnstable was to secure 
the services of a son of Rev. Mr. Spear of that town, and that 
Capt. Atkins being in Boston on private business, the Church 
became responsible for any extraordinary expense. " January 
following a committee was chosen to converse with Rev. Mr. 
Avery respecting an assistant, and it was agreed to give him 
;£ioo old tenor for the present year, he giving up the right 
to the parsonage property, both wood and improvement." 
"July 30, it was agreed to give a call either to Mr. Charles 
Turner, Mr. Caleb Upham or Mr. Samuel Angier, to preach 
the gospel on probation. The committee of supplies were 
Messrs. Benj. Collins, Joshua Atkins, Barnabas Paine, Joseph 
Smally, and Rd. Collins." "Aug. 13, 1753, voted by the 
Church to give Mr. Charles Turner a call to the pastoral 
office in this place. Jonathan Collins, Moses Paine, Deacon 
Joshua Freeman were appointed by the Church to give him a 
call." 

Aug. 15, 1753, it was voted to give £%o per annum, either in money or mer- 
chantable pay as it shall pass with the merchant, in common traffic, and the 
improvement of the parsonage lands, for the support and encouragement of an 



RE V. JOHN A VER Y. 163 

orthodox minister regularly called and settled in the Gospel Ministry in this 
town, provided he allow Rev. Mr. Avery ^13. 68 yearly from his salary. 

Also voted to present the much-respected Mr. Charles Turner Jr., whom 
the Church of Christ in this town have by their unanimous vote, called to the 
pastoral office, with a copy of these proceedings concurring with the church in 
the call. 

Mr. Turner declined this call. When at another meeting the former vote 
was reconsidered and they voted to give him £&o lawful money, with the same 
provision in regard to Mr. Avery, which last offer Mr. Turner accepted. 

Messrs. Joshua Atkins, John Rich, and Moses Paine, were a committee " to 
draw a covenant " and Messrs. Joshua Atkins, Rd. Collins and Rd. Stevens a 
committee to make all necessary arrangement for the ordination appointed for 
the last Wednesday in Nov., and for the entertainment of elders and messengers. 

On the 23d of April, 1754, after an uninterrupted ministry 
of forty-four years, the Rev. John Avery, the first minister of 
the Church of Christ in Truro, died. In the old graveyard 
near where stood the meeting-house, stand three well-pre- 
served slate stones with the following inscriptions : 

Here lie the Remains of 

ye Revd. Mr. John Avery 

who departed this life ye 

23d of April 1754 in the 

44th of his ministry and 

the first Pastor Ordained in 

this place. 

In this dark cavern, in this lonesome grave, 

Here lies the honest, pious, virtuous friend ; 

Him, Kind Heav'n to us priest and doctor gave, 

As such he lived ; as such we mourn his end. 

Here lies burried the 

Body of Mrs. Ruth 

Avery Wife to the 

Rev. Mr. John Avery 

she Deceased Oct. the 

1st 1732 in the 

46th year of her age. 

Here lies burried the body 

of Mrs. Ruth Avery ye 

second wife of ye 

Rev. Mr. John Avery 

she died Nov. 1 A D 

1745 in ye 51st 

year of her age. 



1 64 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Walter T. Avery of New York, a descendant, has re-con- 
secrated the graves of his ancestors, by enclosing the lot 
with granite posts and heavy iron rails. Mr. Avery has also 
generously encouraged other improvements in connection 
with the yard. 

THE WILL OF REV. JOHN AVERY, OF TRURO. 

By the Will of God, Amen, the Eighteenth day of January, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, I, John Avery of Truro, in the 
County of Barnstable, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- 
land, Clerk, being in a weak and low condition as to bodily health, yet thanks be 
to God, for that measure of understanding and memory that I yet enjoy, there- 
fore calling to mind what the servant of God says : Job 30, 23. I know that 
thou wilt bring me to Death and to the house appointed for all Living. I think 
1't therefore proper for me to settle the affairs of my body and soul, that when my 
wreat change cometh, I may have only this to say, viz., to resign my soul into the 
hands of God, whose I am, and with whom I Desire to dwell forever, I do there- 
fore make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament, that is to say, In the 
first place I give and recommend My Immortal Soul into the hands of the Great 
God, My Creator and Redeemer, hoping through the Active and Passive Obe- 
dience of Christ my Redeemer, to Obtain forgiveness of all my sins, the Justi- 
fication of my person, and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified by the 
Holy Spirit ; and as to my body I desire it may be decently buried at the des- 
cretion of my Executors, hereafter named, to remain in the dust till the General 
Resurrection, at which time, I believe it will be seminally raised again by 
the Mighty Power of God, and through Grace appear like unto Christ's Glorious 
body ; and as to my lawful heirs of the Worldly Estate with which God hath 
been pleased to favor me with on Earth, My Will is that My beloved wife 
Mary Avery still wait upon God (as I hope she hath long done) to order all 
things for her who hath always been the Widow's God, as well as Judge in his 
holy habitation ; Psal. 68, 5; and as to my beloved children my will is that they 
take care above all things to get ready for a dying day ; that they don't cumber 
themselves so about worldly things, as to neglect the better part, but Labour to 
get durable Riches and Riteousness, that so they may upon good ground be able 
to apply that word of Comfort to themselves in Psalm 27, 10, When My father 
and my Mother forsake me then the Lord will take me up. And as to My 
Worldly estate my will is that all those debts and duties as I do owe in Right 
and Conscience to any person whatsoever, be well and truly satisfied and paid in 
convenient time, after my decease, by My Executors hereafter named, and as to 
the Remainder of My Estate after Debts and funeral Charges paid, I give and 
bequeath as followeth : In the first place I give and bequeath to my well 
beloved wife Mary Avery (over and above what she is to have out of my Estate 
by my agreement with her before Marriage) the use and Improvement of my 
westerly bedroom and my Study appertaining thereto, and the use and Improve- 
ment of my Woodland on the Easterly side of the Highway that leads from 
Neighbor Eldreds to the Meeting-house in said Truro, these privileges for her 



RE V: JO HN A VER Y. 165 

so long as she Continues to be my Relict or Widow, and shall think fit to Dwell 
in this town. 

2ndly. I give and bequeath to my beloved son John Avery, to him, his heirs 
and assigns forever, my silver Tankard and forty-three pounds sixteen 
shillings and Eight pence lawful money, Which he has already received, as may 
appear by a note, under his hand, to him, his heirs and assigns forever, said 
Note of hand in Old Tennor is three hundred twenty-eight pounds fifteen Shills : 
and 4d. 

3dly. I give and bequeath unto my beloved son Ephriam Avery the note of 
land he Gave me before the year 1739, and also all the money he has Received of 
me, to him, his heirs and assigns forever. 

4thly. I Give and bequeath to the children of my beloved Daughter Ruth 
Parker, deceased, namely Ruth Bishop, Jonathan Parker and Avery Parker, all 
the Goods and household stuff together with my negro Girl named Phillis, all 
which their mother received of me in her life time, to them, their heirs and 
assigns forever, to be equally divided among them. 

5thly. I give and bequeath to my well beloved Daughter Elisabeth Draper, 

all the Goods and household stuff she hath already received together with my 

Indian Girl Sarah, who now lives with her, to her, her heirs and assigns forever. 

6thly. To my son Robert Avery I have already given by deed of Gift My 

Interest in the Town of Lebanon in the Colony of Connecticut. 

7thly. To my son Job Avery I have already given by deed of Gift My Lands 
in this Town of Truro My Dwelling house and buildings appertaining thereto, 
My Pew in the meeting house, as also my young negro man named Earned, 
nevertheless it is my will that my son Job take care to make out to Mary my 
beloved wife the Priviledges expressed to her In this my last Will and Testa- 
ment. 

8thly. I give and bequeath to my well beloved Daughter Mary West forty 
pounds lawful money, which she hath already received; and my will is that Six 
pounds thirteen shillings and four pence lawful money to be paid to her out of 
My Personal Estate, to her, her heirs and assigns forever. 

9thly. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved Daughter Abagail Lothrop, 
forty pounds lawful money, which she hath already received, and six pounds 
thirteen shillings and four pence, to be paid to her out of my personal Estate, to 
her, her heirs and assigns forever. 

Finally. And all the remainder of My Personal Estate I Do give to my 
Children above named, to be divided into nine shares, and my will is that my 
son John Avery have two shares, and that the children of my daughter Ruth 
Parker (deceased) have one share in unequal partnership among them, namely, 
that my Grandson Jonathan Parker (who has an Impediment in his sight) 
receive one half of said share and that my other two grandchildren, namely Ruth 
Bishop and Avery Parker, receive the other half share, equally between them, 
and my other six shares to my other children, above named, in Equal Divisions. 
Moreover I do Constitute and appoint my well beloved sons John Avery and 
Job Avery, to be my Executors of this my last Will and Testament, and hereby 
do utterly disallow, revoke and disannull all and every other former Test'mts or 
Wills, and bequests and Executors by me, in any ways before this time named, 
willed and bequeathed, Ratifiyng and Confirming this and no other, to be my 
last will and Testament 



1 66 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



In Witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this Day and year 
above Written. 



Signed Sealed Published Pronounced 
and Declared by The Said John 
Avery, as his Last Will and Testa- 
ment, in presence of us the Sub- 
scribers. 

SAMUEL ELDREDG. 
MOSES PAINE. 
BARZILLAH SMITH. 
NATHANIEL BREED. 



Further it is My Will that my two 
negroes Jack and Hope, have the 
Liberty to choose their Master among 
all my Children, and they with whom 
they choose to live, give nothing for 
them, and that they shall not be sold 
from my children to any person 
Whatsoever, and this was added 
before I signed this Will and Testa 
ment. 

JOHN AVERY 




[fac simile of 

JOHN AVERY's SEAL. 



CHAPTER X. 
HOW THEY WORSHIPED, OR LAW AND GOSPEL. 

Saturday Night. The New England Sabbath. The Deacon and the Host. Going to 
Meeting. The Hour Glass. Long Sermons. Legislation. Pilgrim Polity. Confed- 
eration. Tyrants and Taxation. Whipping Post. Sunday Laws. Muskets to Meet- 
ing. McFingal. Matchlocks. Fines. Quakers and Indians. Reaction. Ye 
Constable. Funeral Fashions. Drums. Tithing Man. Naughty Boys and long 
Prayers. Uprising and Downsitting. Days of Humiliation. Mr. John Lothrop. 
Thanksgiving. Wonder working Providence. Edward Johnson. The First Grave. 
Silent Habitations. God's Acre. Wm, H. Lapham. Decoration Week. A Worship- 
ful Spot. Sentiment and Superstition. The Benighted Traveller. Entombed. The 
Bewitched Captain. Southey and Tregeagle. Spiritual Visitants. Cotton Mather. Win- 
ter Evening Tales. The Chimney Corner. A Scared Boy. Love of the Marvellous. 
Old Chapman. 

SATURDAY night was the beginning of the Sabbath. 
Everywhere was the quiet hush that betokened the com- 
ing Lord's day. The Saturday night atmosphere that pervaded 
the house suppressed the tumultuous exuberance of youth, and 
early planted a reverent love for the New England Sabbath. 
The varied experience of the week passed in pleasant family 
review, till the father lifted the family Bible. — 

He wales a portion with judicious care; 
And, ' Let u s worship God ! : ' he says with solemn air. 

In those days everybody was expected to go to meeting and 
stay through both meetings. Rev. Mr. Simpkins, of Yar- 
mouth, said : " It was the fashion for all the families to go to 
meeting, and he did not know of a family of respectability 
that did not make a practice of going regularly." Our com- 
ment would be upon the moral excellence of the fashion. 

167 



1 68 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

It was one of those beautiful Puritan fashions that had its 
fountain in the best of the English head and heart. Some of 
the stanch men rode in the saddle, the good wife on a 
pillion with the baby in her lap, and the next in order in 
front or behind. The family horse was loaded like a drome- 
dary and carried as many on his back as a Germantown rock- 
away. One of the old deacons whose duty it was to furnish 
the Sacramental bread and wine, lived a long distance from 
the meeting-house and always rode a white horse. Every 
first Sabbath of the month, the deacon could be seer canter- 
ing up the long sandy road, with the consecr.ted jug 
dangling from his saddle. 

Since the disestablishment of the Romish Church in 
Mexico, no person is allowed to carry the "host ; ' through 
the streets unless in a covered carriage ; but no Government 
minion challenged the faithful deacon as onward he rode 
with a high consciousness as a king's messenger of doing a 
noble service. And indeed he was doing a service where 
kings are the humblest messengers. 

It must have been a pleasant sight to have stood by 
and observed the people from near and far throng the sacred 
temple. I love to stand by the present little church on a 
bright summer Sabbath, in full view of the ocean on the 
east, and the bay on the west, both touched by white sails, 
tracing their courses by diverging paths, and watch the 
worshippers, as singly, two by two, or in families, and little 
groups, they seem to rise out of the hills from the east and 
from the west, from the north and the south, like travellers 
to a great city ; for Sunday morning all paths lead to 
Church, as all roads lead to Rome. 

They come up from the bridle-paths that wind among the 
hills and valleys, as the old Scotch Covenantors used to come 
up to worship among the Cartland Crags of the Highlands. 
Most everybody walked to meeting, and walked miles. The 
children's toilets soon made, they trudged off in good season. 
The older boys and girls regarded the coming and going 
together as no penance. In summer time the girls carried 
their shoes and stockings in their hands, to save them from 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 169 

the wear and tear of the bushes and the long sandy walk. 
When near the meeting-house, they left their old shoes under 
the trees and came into meeting with — 

Shoon as black as sloe, 
And hose as white as snow. 

Among the duties of the sexton was to turn the hour-glass. 
The sermon was expected to close with the last sands of the 
glass. How the children — perhaps not only children — 
watched the glass, and how they were sometimes disap- 
pointed, fully appears in the reports of the time. Some of 
the old ministers had great gifts of continuance. In Scotland, 
during the seventeenth century, if the pastor discoursed two 
hours, he was valued a zealous servant of the Lord. Forbes, 
an old Scotch divine who was vigorous as well as voluble, 
thought nothing of preaching five hours. Some of these old 
divines had a wig full of learning, and as freely they had 
received, freely they gave. 

In the early days of the Colonies everything was legislated. 
They were less catholic than St. Paul, who would have men, 
in some things, a law unto themselves. It was said "the 
General Court made the laws, the Church made the General 
Court, and the clergy made the Church." 

An English writer says : " The Puritans were more fanatical 
than superstitious. They were so ignorant of the real prin- 
ciples of government, as to direct penal laws against private 
vices, and to suppose that immorality could be stemmed by 
legislation." We leave the last clause of this statement on 
its own merits. While we freely admit the folly of over law- 
making, whether by the General Court of 1640 or 1880, we 
respectfully submit, that neither the Pilgrims nor Puritans 
were ignorant of the principles of government. This must 
be said with a poor grace of men who fought with crowns 
and mitres foi the first principles of independency, that in 
1620 proclaimed the spirit of democracy, and in 1643 con- 
federated the two colonies upon terms of peace and equity, 
making an epoch in their history. In the articles of confed- 
eration, entitled "The United Colonies of New England," it 



1 7 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

required no prophet to see the United States of America. 
If two colonies could be successfully confederated, why not 
thirteen, or thirty^ix? Ignorant of the principles of gov- 
ernment, indeed ! They were statesmen, with a genius for 
government and law, who wrought with a plastic civilization, 
and have shaped the destinies of mankind. 

The history of tyrants, of bad and weak rulers the world 
over, has ever been wicked and unjust laws, by which the 
people have suffered cruelty, oppression, and unjust taxation. 
However absurd some of the laws which I am about to pre- 
sent may now seem, we shall not fail to observe that the 
motive was always to make the people better and more equal, 
to produce a higher moral standard and a purer Christian life. 
Injustice, luxury, and self-aggrandizement, were the sins 
unpardonable in the Puritan code. 

In 1635 each meeting-house had the appendages of stocks 
and whipping-post. As a practical illustration of the rare 
adaptability of the law-makers and law-keepers, it is related 
that the first victim of the stocks was the carpenter who 
built them. For charging more than the authorities regarded 
a fair price, Chips was put in durance till he put a satisfactory 
price on his work. He was hoisted on his own petard. In 
1665 the town voted, "That all persons who should stand 
out of the meeting-house during the time of divine service, 
should be set in the stocks." The stocks, by Hudibras : — 

There's neither iron bar nor gate : 
Portcullis, chain, nor bolt, nor grate: 
And yet men durance there abide, 
In dungeon scarce three inches wide, 
With roof so low that under it 
They never stand, but lie or sit. 

In 1640 it was ordered that profane swearing should be 
punished by sitting in the stocks three times, or by impris- 
onment ; also, that for telling lies, a fine of ten shillings 
should be imposed for each and every offence, or sitting in 
the stocks two times. This may seem a severe punishment 
for the luxury of lying, but it is a marked modification on 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. t 7 i 

the old law of having the tongue pulled out. In 1665 the 
Court passed a law to inflict corporal punishment on all 
persons who resided in the towns of t u e Commonwealth who 
denied the Scriptures. It was ordered by the General Court 
"That whosoever shall shoot off a gun on any unnecessary 
occasion, or at any game, except a wolf or an Indian, shall 
forfeit five shillings at each shot." In 1685 an unfortunate 
Benedict was fined for "disorderly keeping house alone." 
No persons were allowed to become housekeepers till they 
were completely provided with guns and ammunition. Laws 
were enacted prohibiting the Indians to sell, lease, or give 
their property, without consent of government. Also pro- 
hibiting arms, ammunition, canoes, or horses, to be sold the 
Indians. They thus forestalled the modern doctrine of hold- 
ing the Indians as wards, and anticipated those famous reso- 
lutions : — " First. Resolved, that to the saints belong the 
spoils. Second. Resolved, we are the saints." William 
Chase was presented for driving a yoke of oxen about five 
miles on the Lord's day. Three shillings a day for mowing 
was regarded as excessive wages, and such as charged more 
than that amount were "presented." The dresses of the 
men and the dresses of the women were regulated by law. 

In 1641 twelve persons were enjoined "to bring their 
muskets, with shot and powder, every Lord's day, to the 
meeting, with their swords and furniture to every piece, 
ready for service if need should require." Hence McFingal 
wrote : — 

So once for fear of Indian beating, 
Our grandsires bore their guns to meeting, 
Each man equipped on Sunday morn, 
With Psalm-book, shot, and powder horn, 
And looked in form as all must grant, 
Like th' ancient, true church militant, 
Or fierce, like modern deep divines, 
Who fight with quills, like porcupines. 

In 1643 men ordered to be raised were to be provided with 
"musket, firelock or matchlock, a pair of candoliers, or 
pouches for powder and bullets, a sword and belt, a worm 



172 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

and scourer, a rest and knapsack." The old-fashioned match- 
lock guns had to be fired with a match, usually a slow-match ; 
consequently a " rest " must be carried to steady the gun while 
the match was applied. 

Rev. Mr. Matthews, of Yarmouth, was fined for preaching 
without the allowance of the magistrate, ten pounds. It was 
"ordered, that card-playing be punished by a fine of fifty shil- 
lings, and that servants or children at dice, cards, or other 
unlawful games, be corrected by their masters, for the first 
offence, for the second to be publicly whipped. Joseph 
Allen, for being at a Quaker meeting, was fined ten shillings ; 
William Newland, for entertaining a Quaker, was fined five 
pounds. We must not cling to the delusion that all 
the Quakers of that day were the sleek, unruffled type. 
"Thomas, thou liest," said the Quaker Norton, in the Gen- 
eral Court, to Governor Thomas Prince. It is a matter of 
history that as soon as the oppressive laws that roused the 
lion in this sect were abolished, they became lambs again. 
There were other turbulent men besides the Quakers, that 
the magistrates had to meet. The Old Colony was no Saint's 
Rest. One Joe Burge, of Sandwich, was often before the 
court and fined for selling rum to the Indians. On one 
occasion he was fined five pounds, when he had the bad 
taste to swear in court, and was again fined. 

About 1700 the long-bent bow began to lose its force, and a 
reaction in public sentiment became apparent, which resulted 
in a popular expression for less law, especially in the churches 
which were becoming schismatic, "the people preferring to 
improve their own gifts." 

" A man was fined five pounds for taking upon himself to 
cure the scurvy, by a preparation of no value, which he sold 
at a very dear rate, and to be imprisoned till he shall pay his 
fine, or give security for it, or else be whipped, and shall be 
liable for any man's action of whom he has received money 
for the said preparation." 

In 1667, two young women in Sandwich petitioned the 
town to be relieved from a fine imposed for laughing in 
meeting, on an occasion when the tithing-man was driving 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 173 

some yelping curs out of the meeting-honse. In 165 1 it was 
ordered that if any lazy, slothful, or profane person, in any 
of the towns, neglect to attend public worship, they shall for 
each offence pay ten shillings, or be publicly whipped. In 
1661, a man in Eastham was fined one pound for lying about 
a whale. This is supposed to be the original "Fish Story." 

Tobacco was another source of legislation. Its origin was 
imputed to the devil. Much opposition was made against it 
in England. King James' frown greatly increased its popu- 
larity. Old Joshua Sylvester poetized : 

If there be any herb in any place 

Most opposite to God's good herb of grace, 

'Tis doubtless this, and this doth plainly prove it, 

That for the most, most graceless men do love it. 

The tobacco plant seems indigenous to the Western world, 
and at the time of its discovery was unknown to civilization. 
The East had its hashish, described by Whittier : — 

The Mollah and the Christian dog 

Change place in mad Metempsychosis, 

The Muezzin climbs the synagogue, 
The Rabbi shakes his head at Moses. 

It remained for the West to introduce the most popular nar- 
cotic known to man, and that has followed commerce around 
the world. The Indians almost existed on tobacco. Their 
dreamy, idle temperament seemed constitutionally adapted to 
this intoxicant. 

Roger Williams says he has known an Indian to go alone 
into the forest, with a small pouch of corn and a large pouch 
of tobacco, and be absent weeks. To the Christian accom- 
plishment of rum-drinking was quickly added the savage one 
of eating and drinking tobacco. 

An old record says : " The early farmers devoted perhaps 
quite as much time to the tobacco yard as to the cornfield. 
It was his physic in sickness, food and comfort at all times." 

A Proclamation, or Approbation 

From the King of Execration, to every Nation 

For Tobacco's Propagation. — The Water Poet. 



174 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

During the early wars, it was drawn with other rations by 
the soldiers and sailors. Smoking tobacco then called drink- 
ing, was carried to a great extravagance. Divine service was 
often disturbed by the clink of flint and steel to light their 
pipes. The burnt sacrifice ascended joyfully with their 
prayers. 

Here was new work for the court. In 1669 they passed 
the following : " It is enacted that any person or persons 
that shall be found smoking of tobacco on the Lord's day, 
going to, or coming from the meeting, within two miles of 
the meeting-house, shall pay twelve pence for every such 
default, for the Colonies use to be increased," etc. The 
enactment against smoking within two miles of the meeting- 
house was soon construed to have no bearing on those who 
have a mind to smoke in the meeting-house. It is said all 
enjoyed the fragrance, though all did not join in making it. 
Joshua and Jedediah Lombard were fined for smoking on the 
Lord's Day outside of the Yarmouth meeting-house. It was 
also enacted, " That if any persons take tobacco while they 
are empaneled upon a jury, to forfeit five shillings for every 
default, except they have given their verdict, or not to give it 
till the next day." Admitting that when the jury required a 
clear head, tobacco must be set aside. 

In was the duty of the constables " to attend att ye great 
doores of ye meeting-house every Lord's day, to keepe ye 
doores fast, and suffer none to goe out before ye whole exer- 
cises are ended." There was a committee chosen to seat the 
people. First, the aged who served the town. Second, 
those who have borne commissions. Then as respect to age, 
or rates, or town taxes, etc. Behind all, ready for service, 
the men of military titles were seated. In some places, the 
young men and maidens in the gallery — separated by a high 
railing and separate steps. The boys were on benches by the 
wall, under ward of the ty thing-men. The men sat on the 
right, the women on the left. These rules were probably 
mostly during the early history of the Colony and before the 
privilege of building pews at their own expense became the 
fashion. 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 175 

Funerals were expensive, and if carried out to the extreme 
fashion few could afford to die. I apprehend, however, that 
the style of "shoes and clogs," "hose and gloves," "neck- 
lace for the negro," "a large beaver hat, and a light gray 
bob-wig for a brother minister," and "eighteen pair of men's 
white cotton gloves," was not practised much in Truro. An 
old record states : " The same quantity of rum and sugar were 
necessary for burying a minister as for raising the meeting- 
house." It is quite refreshing, even in our age of abuses and 
errors, to know that the world has perhaps never had less 
positive follies, if we fairly consider all the conditions. 

There were no bells in those days, but every town had a 
drum, as by colonial law ; a fine of forty shillings was 
demanded of every town two months without one. So the 
drum performed double duty ; to drum the people out to 
meeting, and to give warning of the lurking savage. It 
required, it is said, an educated ear not to confound the 
drum ecclesiastical with the drum military. Some of these 
extreme forms, though a part of Old Colony history, had 
either passed away, or were considerably modified by prac- 
tice in Truro at the time of which we write. 

As long ago as 1745 there were bad boys : as at that time 
"tiding men" were appointed to take care of the boys, that 
they don't play in meeting on the Sabbath, and keep the 
dogs out of the meeting-house. Fifty years ago the tiding- 
man was a recognized officer in our churches, but, vastly 
shorn of power, he was a shadow only of his former glory. 

Hudson in his History of Lexington says: "To be a tithing- 
man was as honorable as to be a selectman or a magistrate. " 

I find the following description of the tiding or tithing- 
man in his palmy days, in an old New England history: 
" Some staid and vigilant person was chosen to have inspec- 
tion of the audience during the public exercises. His frequent 
rounds kept the urchins in order ; the badge of his office 
was a pole with a knob at one end, and a tuft of feathers at 
the other. With the knob he rapped the men's heads, and 
with the feathers he brushed the ladies' faces when he caught 
them napping. It is said this officer was once rebuked for 



1 76 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

rapping the head of a nodding man whom he thought was 
drowsing, when in fact he was only nodding assent to the 
sermon. " In 1748 Mr. Thomas Cobb must have been that 
"staid and vigilant person," as he was appointed to correct 
the boys. But the boys still continued to play, as four years 
later, " a man was appointed to take care of and chastise the 
boys who play in meeting. " The boys did not improve, and 
afewyears later " Charles Annis,Benjamin Lewis, and Solomon 
Dyer were appointed to correct and whip the boys that are 
disorderly on Sabbath days at or about the meeting-house. " 
Perhaps the great trouble from the boys arose from the mis- 
take of having them sit in the galleries free from parental 
oversight. The boys or girls that could sit together through 
two of those long services and not play, probably died young 
and went straight to heaven. The pews were square, and the 
prayers long. It was the good custom, and the only worship- 
ful one after kneeling, for all to stand through the prayer. 
To make more comfortable room, the seats were all hung on 
hinges, and lifted during the service. The boys were self- 
constituted custodians of the uprising and downsitting; a 
little rivalry made lively clattering at the close of this solemn 
ceremony. The pews were finished with a balustrade perhaps 
ten inches high ; less ornate and higher, but nearly the same 
style as used on the pews of the new Trinity Church in Boston. 
Through these loop-holes the children could watch each other 
and report discoveries. 

Days of humiliation were set for prayer and fasting. These 
were figuratively days of sackcloth and ashes, in which they 
supplicated the Divine interposition. Rev. Mr. Lothrop, of 
Barnstable, refers to these Humiliations in his journal, March 
24, 1640 : 

" In regard of England and for others and our owne par- 
ticular. " "January 10, 1641, in regard to ye wett and very 
cold spring, as also for the quelling of strange and heretical 
tenets raised principally by the Flamilists, as alsoe for ye 
healing of a bloodye Coffe amonge children, especially in 
Plimouth. " " September 23, 1642, Ffor old England and 
Ireland and for the prevention of ye Indians here and our 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 179 

own Sinns. " Ma) ye 10th, 1643, Ffor old England — and for 
our Selves. " "March 24, 1652, Thanksgiving for the Lord's 
admirable powerful working for Old England by Oliver Crom- 
well and his army against the Scotts. " 

The first Thanksgiving is thus introduced : — "Our harvest 
being gotten in our Governor sent four men on fowling that 
so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we 
had gathered the fruit of our labor. " The good old Governor 
when he sent the four men fowling for the first Thanksgiving 
dinner in 162 1, touched a common chord of sympathy that in 
1 88 1 finds nearly fifty millions of thankful disciples. 

There's Hezekiah and Zephaniah, 
And all the children living, 
There's Anna Maria, Jane and Sophia, 
Will be to our Thanksgiving. 

Some years after, when a severe drought prevailed in Plym- 
outh, the Governor set apart a day of solemn humiliation 
and prayer. Soon after, in gratitude and pious acknowledg- 
ment for the blessings of copious showers and promising 
supplies, a day of Thanksgiving was called. 

To better convey the religious eccentricities and zeal of 
early New England, we quote a few passages from the quaint 
work, Wonder-working Providence of Ziori s Savionr in New 
England, by Edward Johnson of Woburn, in N. E., published 
in London in 1654, quite popular in its day. The phrase- 
ology and ready adjudication of things spiritual and temporal, 
of the Church militant and military, of the soldier of the Cross 
and of the soldier of fortune, of pride and humility, of super- 
erogation and superstition, could only have been produced in 
an age that produced an Oliver Cromwell : — 

As large gates to small edifices, so are long prefaces to little books, there- 
fore I will briefly inform thee, that here thou shalt find the time when, the 
manner how, the cause why, and the great sacrifice which, it hath pleased the 
Lord to give to this handful of His praying saints in New England. 

When England began to decline in Religion, in vain idolatrous ceremonies* 
and the desecration of the Sabbath, Christ creates a New England to muster up 
the first of His forces. Could Caesar so suddenly fetch over fresh forces from 
Europe to Asia, Pompey to foile, how much more shall Christ call over the 



180 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

nine hundred league ocean at his pleasure, such instruments as He thinks meet. 
Your Christ has commanded the seas that they shall not swallow you, nor 
pirates imprison your persons or possess your goods. Let the matter and form 
of your Church be neither national nor provincial, but such as is plainly pointed 
out by Christ and His apostles. You shall be fed in the wilderness, whither 
you are to go with the flower of wheat, and wine shall be plentiful among you. 
But above all, beware of any love, self-conceited opinions, stopping your ears 
from hearing the council of an Orthodox Synod, but impart Christ's mind to 
each other. 

Beware of a proud censorous spirit, and should Christ be pleased to place in 
his building more polished stones than thyself, make it a matter of rejoicing and 
not of envy. 

Wait on the Lord Jesus and he shall stir up friends to provide for you: and 
in the meantime, spare not to lay up your coin, for powder, bullets, match-arms 
of all kinds, and all sorts of instruments for war ; you shall see in that wilder- 
ness wither you are going, troops of stout horsemen marshaled, and therefore 
fail not to take ship lusty mares with you, and see that with all diligence you 
encourage every soldier-like spirit among you, for the Lord Christ intends to 
achieve greater matters by the little handful, than the world is aware of: where- 
fore you shall seek and set up men of valor to lead and direct every soldier 
among you, and with all diligence to instruct them from time to time. 

Although it may seem a mean thing to be a New England soldier, yet some of 
you shall have the battering and beating down, scaling, winning and wasting the 
overtopping towers of the Hierarchy. Let military skill be kept in high esteem 
among you, gentlemen ; corporals and fellow soldiers, keep your weapons in con- 
tinual readiness, seeing you are called to fight the battles of the Lord Christ. 

The church of Christ being thus begun, the Lord with the water spouts of his 
tender mercy caused to increase and fructify. And now let every ear listen, 
and every heart admire and enlarge itself to the astonishment of the whole man, 
at this wondrous work of the great Jehovah. That in thrice seven years 
wrought such fearful desolation and wonderful alterations among our English 
nation, and also in this dismal desert, wasting the natural inhabitants with 
death's stroke, and that as is found, touched the Massachusetts, who were a 
populous nation consisting of thirty thousand able men, now brought to less than 
three hundred, and in their room and abode, this poor Church of Christ, consist- 
ing at their beginning but of seven persons, increased to forty-three Churches in 
joyful communion one with the other, possessing one God, one Church, and one 
Gospel, and in those Churches about seven thousand seven hundred and fifty 
souls in one profession of the rules of Christ, and that which makes the work 
more admirable in the eyes of all beholders, men's habitations are cut out of the 
woods and bushes, neither can this place be entered by the English nation, but 
bypassing through a dreadful and terrible ocean of nine hundred leagues length. 

Behold his swiftness all ye that have said, where is the promise of his com- 
ing ? Listen awhile, hear what his herald proclaims. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, 
both her doctrines and Lordly rabble of Popes, Cardinals, Lordly Bishops, Friars, 
Monks, Nuns, Seminary-Priests, Jesuits, Ermites, Pilgrims, Deans, Prebands, 
Arch-deacons, Commissioners, Officials, Proctors, Singing-men, Choristers, 
organists, bellows-blowers, vergers, Porters, sextons, beads-men, and bell-ringers 
and all others who never had a name in the word of God. 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 181 

THE FIRST GRAVE. 

Mrs Hannah 

wife to Capt 

Thomas Paine 

died July ye 24th 

1 7 13 in ye 52 year 

of her age 

The above inscription is upon a blue slate headstone in 
the old graveyard, which, according to English custom of the 
time, was the churchyard as well, and for nearly a hundred 
years was the only one in town. It is almost remarkable 
that while a thousand graves are unnoticeable and unknown, 
the stones sunk nearly out of sight, this, erected to the first- 
known grave, and to the mother of a noble race, stands stead- 
fast and natural after one hundred and sixty-eight years. 
The lichens have not gathered, nor has the attrition of storm 
and sunshine wasted the record thereof. 

The yard has been enlarged and improved, and re-fenced 
from time to time, but never was in better condition than at the 
present. For many years the central and eastern part be- 
came considerably overgrown with beach-plum and other 
spreading bushes and vines. A few years since it was cleared 
at considerable expense, but the rapidity of this growth requires 
constant attention. Here undisturbedly reposes the dust of 
many generations, and every year adds to the number from 
many parts of our own, and sometimes from foreign lands. 
It is not a city of the dead. No lavish store of marble pomp 
marks this poor dust. No rival shafts of sculptured art 
claim homage in this God's Acre: — 

I 

Their name, their years spelt by the unlettered muse, 
The place of fame and elegy supply. 

Instances are not wanting where visitors have become 
strongly attached to these quiet haunts as a last resting-place. 
Mr. William H. Lapham after twenty-three years of rail- 
roading in Ohio, retired, and purchased a home in Albany, 
N. Y. He first came to Truro as a seashore resort, became 



l& 2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

attached to the place, and thereafter became, as have many 
others, an annual visitor. It was his dying request to be 
buried in the old graveyard, which request was complied with. 
A recumbent granite slab markes his grave, bearing his name 
and age. 

DECORATION WEEK. 

Annually unseen messengers with noiseless footfall and 
spirit hand, decorate these graves with living flowers, ex- 
ceeding white as snow. They come with the falling dew, in 
the light of the stars and the first blush of the morning. 
They fall alike on all : — 

Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past. 

And if possible, on the sunken graves, where crops the blue, 
mossy stone, with Death's head and cross-bones roughly 
chiseled, there a double bank is thrown. Not for a day only, 
but for many days and nights they linger, till, like a vesture, 
God folds them up and lays them away. 

Lean reverently on this southern fence facing the north ! 
Before you are the graves of our fathers. The dead alone 
reign here. On this spot they worshiped. Right and left 
glides off a beautiful tableland, of which this is the centre. 
The sky bends to the ocean, the ocean bounds the horizon 
as the eye sweeps the compass. Scenes more magnificent 
may have met your eyes, but utterances more infinite and 
peaceful never touched your heart. 

God! God! God! 

Thou fiU'est our eyes 

As were the skies 

One burning, boundless sun, 

While creature mind 

In paths confined 

Passeth a spot thereon. 

God! God! God! 

These silent habitations have always been regarded as 
favorite haunts of disembodied spirits that walk the earth 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 183 

unseen both when we wake and when we sleep. A supersti- 
tious awe used to hang around graveyards. This was no 
exception to the rule, and no doubt there was full occasion to 
credit reports of sounds and sights. " The wind bloweth 
where it listeth." Around this high building with project- 
ing porch and its hundred little caves of yEolus, the wind- 
god listened to angry-voiced clamoring, or weird and mourn- 
ful dirges which hastened the belated traveller on his lonely 
way. Much, however, of this superstitious coloring was a 
sentiment that effected very little the sterling courage of men 
or women. 

Incidents are related that denote the highest order of cour- 
age. A man on his way home from Provincetown was 
overtaken by night and a terrific northeast storm. It was 
almost impossible to pursue his journey, but he finally 
reached the meeting-house, under the shelter of which he 
stopped to recruit. 

As the gusts of wind swept around the corner, he recog- 
nized a human voice. A few moments more and it seemed 
plainly the voice of a child. He listened till he was satisfied 
there was a living child in the graveyard, and not far from 
where he stood. In the darkness, and wind, and rain, it 
seemed impossible to search among the graves that fearful 
night. He climbed over the fence, and on his knees crawled 
over the graves, and stones, and wild brush, guided by the 
voice. He first thought it was a child bewildered and lost, 
but as he approached the sound, it seemed to arise from a 
grave, when the terrible thought came to him that it must 
be a living person entombed. He was soon over the grave, 
and felt with his hands an aperture from whence came the 
voice. As he bowed his head to the ground, he felt a warm 
breath. One desperate effort, he thought, will settle this 
case. He thrust his hand into the opening in the grave, and 
seized the object and lifted it out. It was a lamb ! 

The Rabbis say that ten measures of witchcraft were sent 
into the world, of which the Egyptians got nine. The other 
tenth must have come to Massachusetts, and Cape Cod had 
her share. 



184 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

I have heard of no witch hangings on the Cape, but there 
were many who believed in these demoniacal agencies. I 
might say nearly all yielded a general assent to the delusion. 
If such men as Cotton Mather, John Wesley, and Chief Jus- 
tice Hale, openly supported the theory by Scripture, what 
could be expected of the people who read the Bible constantly, 
and believed to a literal interpretation, every word of the 
sacred page ? 

Captain Sylvanus Rich of Truro, the father of the late 
Captain Sylvanus of Bangor, was an enterprising young 
sailor of his time. On one occasion, having loaded his vessel 
with corn in North Carolina, bound for Boston, and being 
detained by bad weather he went on shore for a bucket of 
milk, and soon after his return, went to sea. Captain Rich 
was not an exception to the spirit of the day. Soon after 
sailing, they encountered a fearful gale of wind. The captain 
declared from the first that the old woman who sold the milk 
was at the bottom of the mischief. The gale continued till 
all the sails were blown away, and the vessel had drifted nearly 
to the Grand Banks. During all this time the captain was a 
victim of a terrible hallucination. Under this powerful spell, 
his flesh fell away like a sick man's, and he was fast wearing 
out. He declared to his crew in all sincerity, that every 
night the old woman came into the cabin through the lazaret, 
saddled and bridled him, and drove him over the hills and 
through the woods of Truro, and around Bound Brook Island. 
He said he couldn't stand it much longer, which was apparent 
to the terrified crew. 

He did not, like Southey on his favorite horse Nobs, pir- 
ouette, and glide through the diaphanous air ; but like poor 
Tregeagle, with the Devil for his rider, he had to carry the 
witch wherever she drove. In vain his crew tried to persuade 
him that he was deluded. At last, when matters had become 
desperate and nearly hopeless, and they were drifting a wreck 
on the ocean, they were fallen in with a ship, fortunately 
commanded by his own son, Sylvanus Jr., who supplied all 
his wants. This broke the charm : the captain once more 
himself put his vessel in order and proceeded in safety on 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 185 

his voyage disturbed no more by spectral old women flying 
through the air on broom-sticks, or riding the ocean billows 
in tiny eggshells. 

The critical essayist Blair observes : " The marvellous, it 
must be admitted, has always a great charm for the bulk of 
readers. " There is, it must be confessed, a subtle, unex- 
plained, inherent clinging of old superstitions and strange 
fancies around our hearts. There are times when we not only 
allow such visitants unannounced, but bid them a glad wel- 
come — invite them into our best room and easy-chair, and 
gird ourselves to serve them. If we do not believe in these 
wayside ministrations we love to cherish them. It is a 
wayward love, wandering in high-fenced gardens, or far-away 
nooks. Sometimes — 

Over the water I pass without ferry, 
Over the water I pass without wherry. 

About the time of which we write, a wave of the marvel- 
lous swept over New England. Cotton Mather, in his 
Magnolia, tells a story of a ship that sailed out of New Haven 
Bay with a large number of returning pilgrims on board, and 
was never again heard of, although the form of it (the ship) 
was seen for many years afterwards hovering about the coasts, 
particularly in stormy weather. The novel writers of the day 
built their most popular sensations on this fascinating senti- 
ment. It was a day of signs and wonders, of dreams and 
visions. Perhaps the majority of the people believed directly 
or indirectly in ghosts and spirits seen and unseen. Fifty or 
sixty years ago the memory of these stirring themes was 
fresh in the minds of the old people, and they were delighted 
to talk them over. 

The high-piled wood blazing in the huge, deep fireplaces, 
were favorable to winter evening tales. The preparatory 
process of the Elizabethan literature, dazzling the civilized 
world with its genius, was the early minstrelsy : tales told 
by the fireside in the long winter evenings, and songs sung 
as Shakespeare speaks of, by women as they sat spinning and 
knitting in the sun. 



1 86 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



While the merry fireblocks kindle, 
While the gudewife twirls her spindle, 
Hark the song which nigh the embers, 
Singeth yonder withered crone. 

It was the custom in Truro, and to a considerable extent 
still prevails, for the neighbors to drop into each other's 
houses without ceremony. Every neighborhood was sure to 
have some favorite resort where a room full would be found 
most every winter evening. Here would be reiterated for 




SPINNING AND KNITTING IN THE SUN. 

the hundredth time possibly, but always to some new wonder- 
eyed and open-eared boy, the old stories. Some families 
enjoyed the reputation of accepting all stories at sight. When 
a boy I heard a young man tell an evening's experience which 
is still fresh in my memory. He is now "well on " to three- 
score and ten, a most respectable citizen of Truro, measuring 
out the sands of life in peace and comfort. He may recog- 
nize in this recital his experience of sixty years ago. He had 
a great relish for stories, and his grandfather's was a wonder- 
ful place for story-telling. Many an evening found him 
stowed away in the chimney corner, a mighty listener. One 
night in his favorite place, the stories turned on ghosts, and 
were unusually exciting. Although he knew he had to go 
home alone, yet he felt chained in the chimney corner, 



HOW THEY WORSHIPED. 187 

afraid to go, and afraid to stay. At last he mustered courage 
to start. The distance was not far, but it was a dark, misty, 
scarish night, when common objects wear fantastic shapes, 
and the air is full of half-shadowy forms, without the dim- 
twinkling stars. 

A heterogeneous crew, 
There were imps of every shape and hue, 
And some looked black and some looked blue, — 
They twisted themselves about. 

When half-way home, where the road was narrow, with a 
steep bank on the right and a high fence on the left, he saw 
a coffin lying directly across the road. As he could not 
readily climb the bank or fence, he followed his first impulse, 
to jump with might and main. A ten-year-old Cape Cod 
boy can jump like a grasshopper, but instead of clearing the 
coffin as intended, when well-poised, his foot was grasped by 
a strong grip, and he dragged into the coffin, where he lay 
scared to death. After laying still a few seconds that 
seemed an age, he ventured to use his lungs and heels, when 
presto ! the coffin became a two-bushel corn basket, that acci- 
dentally had rolled from a neighbor's cart, and which his 
excited imagination had conjured to a real coffin. The strong- 
hand that grabbed his foot was the basket handle, which he 
did not clear in his leap for life. Had it not been for the 
obtrusive handle, this boy would have taken oath that he 
jumped a coffin lying across the road. 

It is related of "Old Chapman," the British Captain who 
lived at East Harbor, and would sometimes get high, that one 
night returning home with some hale, mettlesome fellows, as 
they approached the meeting-house, Chapman ran ahead, but 
in the darkness was not missed. He stationed himself at a 
point in the graveyard, where he knew his companions would 
pass, and when they came fully abreast, he roared with a 
voice that shook the hills, "Arise ye dead and come to judg- 
ment." Nobody arose, but tradition says there was some of 
the fastest running that night ever known in East Harbor 
Village. 



CHAPTER XI. 

GEOLOGICALLY AND OTHERWISE CONSIDERED. 

Clams and Clamming. Scollops and Pilgrims. Ocean Flora. Fertility of the Ocean. 
Planet Sinking. Salt-water Lawns. English Hay. Ah Sin. Pond Acreage. 
French Alchemy. Rev. Mr. Ward and Professor Shaler. Geological Specu- 
lation. Physical Structure. Bart. Gosnold. Lost Territory. Points Care and 
Gilbert. Gosnold's Geography. Georges Bank. Nantucket Shoals. Matthias Rich. 
Captain Eldredge's Chart. Loss of the Byron. The Sparrow Hawk. Deacon 
Doane. Marvellous Changes. Amos Otis. Professor Agassiz. Map. New Eng- 
land Storms. Amputation. Driving Stakes. Science. Song of the Carbons. High 
Head. Hitchcock. Pretty Landscape. Coombs. Merrivale. English Weather. 
Clay Pounds. Highland Light. Diluvial Elevations. Mountain Waves. Lagoons. 
The Question settled. Corn hills. Tashmuit. A Deserted Village. English Cannon 
Balls. East Harbor. Old Lewis Cameron. A lonely Grave. Good Farms. Bank 
Dividends. Land Empirics. Barnstable Coat of Arms. What Ireland Deserves. 
Kendall. A Green Old Age. Solid Knowledge. 

AS happy as a clam, " is an old proverb ; we have no good 
reason to regard the saying a slander on the molluscan. 
There is nothing in the world festive about the clam ; on the 
contrary, he is a sober, plain, every-day home-body. As 
Charles Lamb said of the snail, "knock when you will, he's 
sure to be at home. " Judging by his habits, we should say 
he was quite content with his lot, and indulges in no ambitious 
day dreams. If he does but little, he has but little to do, and 
should not be charged with shirking. The clam has been 
a great friend in many trying times. The Pilgrims and Puri- 
tans particularly, were under lasting obligations to them, for 
honoring all drafts upon their bank at sight. He is a valua- 
ble acquisition to our tide-washed territory, and makes the 
unsightly margins of shore and creek more valuable than the 
rich alluvial lands of the Miami, that shake like Lebanon with 

188 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 189 

an annual crop of corn. . Somebody that pretends to know, 
says : " The most productive land in the State is the clam-flats. 
They cost nothing for fencing or top-dressing ; they are self- 
planting and self-supporting, and the more the soil is turned, 
the faster the crop matures, and the greater its abundance. " 
\ It is not true that the more the soil is turned the faster the 
crop matures, nor is it true that where the Cape farmers plant 
potatoes they will dig clams in autumn. Captain John 
Smith wrote in 1616, "You shall scarce find any bay, or 
shallow shore, or cove of sand, where you may not take many 
clampes or lobsters, or both at your pleasure. " Could Smith 
"go a-clamming " on some of the old places he mentions, he 
would make exceptions. Many of the shores and coves have 
been over-cultivated, and require a long rest to become again 
a fruitful soil. A genuine Cape Coder is never in love with 
lakes and rivers that have no tide and no clams. 

These soft-shell clams {My a arenarid) are the most valuable 
of all the conchiferous family, the oyster excepted. They are 
now scarce in Truro, and becoming so in all the Cape towns. 
Cape Cod clams, Cape Cod cranberries, and Cape Cod eggs 
always command the highest market price. Clams were once 
a considerable winter industry ; one hundred dollars or more 
were not unfrequently earned during the winter months, dig- 
ging them for salt bait. Their consumption for food has 
rapidly increased with railroads ; they are extensively shipped, 
besides being canned for export. The large or giant sea-clam 
{Mactra Solidissima), sometimes called the sea hen, grows in 
the soft sand near the coast, and is caught by raking ; at ex- 
treme low ebbs are often found on the bars ; within a few years 
have been used as bait by the winter bank fishermen, which 
has created a large demand, and employed hundreds of men. 
Mesodesma arctaca is a very small clam of the giant species 
which is washed ashore along the Cape. The quahaug 
(Indian) is a round, thick-shelled clam, tight as an oyster; 
will live a long time out of water. The mussel (Mytilus 
edulis), abundant around the marshes, and washed up in 
large clusters from the ocean, is not eaten on the 
Cape : in France and many other countries are largely culti- 



i 9 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

vated for food. Poles are planted, on which the mussels come 
like chickens to roost. The scollop shell (Pectren concentricus ) 
often used for pincushions, which is plentiful, was the pil- 
grim's crest — his badge of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. 
They are abundant on the shores of Palestine. We conclude 
our list with the cockles : the Natica heros is the most 
prominent, but are found in considerable variety. 

In 1840 Gould discovered of mollusca one hundred and 
ninety-seven species in Massachusetts, showing how much 
more prolific with life is water than land. Among his list many 
belong exclusively to the North Shore ; others to the South. 
Among the Crustacea are the lobster, crabs, and horseshoe, 
or horse-foot, sometimes called the king crab {Limulus Poly- 
phczmus), the tails of which the Indians used for arrow-heads. 
A paper in a late number of the Popular Science Review, 
made upon a report of Prof. Farlow, of the United States Fish 
Commission, makes Cape Cod a dividing line between the Arc- 
tic and Adriatic flow. Upon this theory the Gulf Stream, that 
wonderful factor in physical geography, loses its force at 
Cape Cod, and strikes toward the European coast. Above 
this line marine vegetation is of an arctic flora, distinct in 
many features from that of the Long Island. The difference 
between the flora of Massachusetts Bay and Buzzard's Bay is 
greater than between Massachusetts Bay and the Bay of 
Fundy, or Nantucket and Norfolk. 

The United States Fish Commission is now in its infancy, 
and deserves especially the fostering hand of Government. 
Prof. Baird is accomplishing an important work in the in- 
terests of science. We hope he will push his discoveries and 
investigations not only in this inviting field, but by giving 
practical encouragement to our fisheries. If some branch 
could be developed in more southern waters for winter, it 
would be a great benefit. We are glad to know that the 
professor has the cooperation of the fishermen, which must 
result in great good. 

Quite valuable portions of the Cape are the extensive salt 
marshes which are always flooded twice a day at high course 
tides, and when fairly green, are as handsome as the most 



GE OL O GICALL Y CONSIDERED. 1 9 1 

fertilized meadows or well-kept lawns. When favorably situ- 
ated, they spread over the sandy flats with surprising rapidity. 
First appears a tall coarse sedge; this in a few years becomes 
thick and rank. When mown and carted on the uplands, 
after a few good showers and October suns, it becomes 
"excellent hay. The cattle eat it with great relish without 
salt, leaving scarcely one of the coarse quills. Cape Cod 
cattle need no salting. The air and food furnishes all the 
condiment required. In Nauset, from 1800 to 1840, it was 
estimated that flats had grown to meadow capable of cutting 
three hundred tons of hay. In process of time as the marsh 
gathers, it becomes higher and firmer, and the sedge shorter 
and finer, till perhaps ultimately short grass may come in. 
When deep ditches are dug for draining or channels, branches 
of trees, leaves and acorns, in good state of preservation, are 
often found ten feet or more below the surface. First the 
thick matted sod, a foot or more of solid fibre imperishable by 
sun or frost ; then black mud or sand, and finally the old 
soil. These indications determine that in some not very dis- 
tant past, a continuous tidal wave has submerged the deeper 
valleys, or else that this part of our planet is sinking, which 
has let in the ocean. Without being able to prove such a 
theory, my judgment and observation incline to the latter 
horn of the dilemma. The boundaries of the marshes are 
made by the creeks ; when the creeks change their course, 
the owners are left without a title. Forty years since very 
little English hay was cut in Truro. Within fifty years 
extensive diking has shut out the ocean ; swamps and low 
places have been filled, so that now more than half the hay 
cut is fresh. 

According to the lamented Anson Burlingame, our late 
Envoy Extraordinary to the Flowery Kingdom, an acre of 
water, well situated, is more valuable in China than an acre 
of rich land. We have yet much to learn from Ah Sin. By 
the report of the Fish Commissioner, there are in the State of 
Massachusetts 196,342 acres of lakes and ponds well adapted 
to fish culture. Barnstable County has a domain of 37,892 
acres, as follows: — Provincetown, 320; Truro, 1265; Well- 



1 92 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

fleet 4868 ; Eastham, 880; Orleans, 2748; Brewster, 1400; 
Dennis, 979; Yarmouth, 3100; Chatham, 5960; Harwich, 
1974; Barnstable, 8140; Falmouth, 4838; Sandwich, 1600. 
Barnstable County has one fifth of the fresh water acreage of 
the whole State. Her salt water acreage not yet reported. 
It should be remembered in this showing that an acre of fresh 
water is even more valuable surrounded with the clean scant 
soil or sillicate of Cape Cod, than if rich as the banks of the 
Nile. France has 493,750 acres of lakes and ponds, from 
which she receives an annual rental of ten million of francs 
— two millions of dollars. The revenue from the Cape acre- 
age, at the same ratio, would be eighty thousand dollars per 
annum. 

Before referring to the geology of the Cape, of which we 
know so little, we introduce the correspondence of Rev. Mr. 
Ward and Prof. Shaler, who seem to be in the same boat with 
ourselves as to a satisfactory theory : 

CAPE COD FOSSILS. 

Prof. Shaler, Harvard College : — 

Dear Sir: I send you by express a small piece of quartz rock found in a 
Harwich field the other day by one of our townsmen. It attracted his attention 
as it lay on the ground, as something peculiar and strange ; and he picked it up 
and brought it into Dr. Munsell's office, for examination. 

All who have seen it at once pronounce it a petrifaction of some animal's 
head. As our sandy Cape does not produce such things, we have had many 
conjectures in regard to its origin, where it came from, how it got here, and what 
it might betoken. We are told by scientists that away back in primordial times, 
when the icebergs were the only ships that sailed the ocean, they brought us 
down from the regions of eternal frosts the heavy boulders that are strewn over 
the Cape, as ballast for our shifting sands; and this suggests to us that some 
Arctic fellow may have slipped in this specimen I send you as a hint of the 
existence of something more than icebergs in that unknown country the Great 
Bear watches over and guards so jealously against all approach. Perhaps the 
solution of the vexed Polar Question, that has so long baffled our exploring 
expeditions, may be wrapped up in this little piece of quartz rock. At any rate 
it is not our intention to trifle with your feelings, and we most sincerely trust 
that we do not give you a geological stone when you are hungry and asking for 
geological bread. 

Anxiously awaiting a reply, I remain, 

Yours respectfully, 

B. C. WARD, 
Pastor Cong. Church. 
1875- 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 193 

Cambridge, Mass., October, 1875. 

Dear Sir: I am very much obliged to you for the chance to see the quartz 
pebble which, with your favor, is just at hand. I am sorry to say that the speci- 
men, despite its curious form, is only a quartz pebble. Not that I mean to speak 
disrespectfully of quartz pebbles; this I should regard as great a breach of 
decency as did Sidney's Smith's friend the "speaking disrespectfully of the 
equator." 

The pebble was probably formed as part of a dyke or vein, and took its shape 
from the adjacent walls where it was deposited; the softer matter which imbed- 
ded it has since broken away, leaving the mass in the grip of the glacier. 

I spent some time last Spring looking over your Cape gravels, and trying to 
read the riddle which is written there. Your Cape is a great interrogation 
point, but its questions are hard to answer. 

Thanking you again for your consideration, believe me 

Very respectfully yours, 

N. S. SHALER. 

Rev. B. C. Ward, Harwich. 

The topography of the Cape and the well-known coast 
changes constantly going on, opens a broad field for geologi- 
cal speculation. What we shall say is generally accepted 
theory and our own observations, making no pretensions to 
scientific knowledge. 

There seems reasonable ground for the opinion that the 
shoals and bars lying between Nantucket and Cape Cod were 
once terra firma, and the uniting territory of these now sepa- 
rate counties. This admitted, and we are forced to the con- 
clusion that Great South Shoal, the terror of mariners, and 
other shoals interjacent, including Georges Bank, all carefully 
described hereafter, were either connected or groups of 
islands. All the territory referred to is physically of the 
same structure. 

When Bart. Gosnold made his first observations of Cape 
Cod in 1602, so accurately described by Archer, after 
doubling Cape Cod, by proceeding twelve leagues from the 
harbor, he discovered a point "a good distance off," with 
breakers near it. These he called Tucker's Terror, and the 
point, Point Care. .He "kept his luff," doubled Point Care, 
and "bore up again" with the land, where he anchored. 
He saw many shoals near, and "another point that lay in his 
course " six nautical miles south of Point Care. This he 
named for his mate, Point Gilbert. The next day he sailed 



1 94 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

round Point Gilbert, and found an open sea, where he 
anchored a league beyond, in Lat. 41 ° 40'. Evidently there 
was then no point or shoal where now is Monomoy Point, or 
such a careful observer as Archer would have recorded it. 
He continued on to the Vineyard Islands, where he began an 
"abode." 

Point Care was the same north headland named " He 
Nawset," by Captain John Smith, in 1614. The old people 
of Eastham and Orleans, within the memory of men living in 
this generation, knew about the island, and of a rocky place 
about the middle of the isle called Slut's Bush. From the 
best-connected facts, the north side of Isle Nauset was in 
Eastham, near the Three Lights. Vessels now pass over 
Slut's Bush. On a calm day stumps and rocks may be seen 
at the bottom, and the fishermen not unfrequently get their 
nets and anchors entangled. During severe gales the stumps 
are sometimes washed ashore. As Slut's Bush was midway 
of the isle, Point Care must have extended several miles into 
the ocean. 

Point Gilbert is better defined. When the English settled 
on the Cape, Webb's Island lay nine^ miles east by south from 
Chatham, containing about twenty acres covered with savin. 
The Nantucketers used to cut wood there. 

This island has been washed away more than a century, 
but a large rock known to have been on the island has been 
sounded in six fathoms, and is now known as Crabb Ledge. 

We will now for a moment study Gosnold's Geography. 
His ship lay anchored in a bay near the shore between East- 
ham and Chatham, as seen on the map, formed by land on 
the north, which he called Point Care, and on the south, Point 
Gilbert. The Captain does not state the length of these 
points, but he says the distance between them was six nauti- 
cal miles, which is a nautical form of description from head- 
land to headland ; always being understood that the headlands 
are nearly of corresponding proportions : as the old English 
and American Treaty on the Fisheries, used to read, " from 
headland to headlond." We have shown that Webb's Island, 
which was evidently Point Gilbert, was nine miles east. We 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 195 

have now the extent of this Bay and of the two points east of 
Cape Cod in 1602, where now a straight line of seacoast runs 
from Chatham to the Highlands of Truro. 

Isle Nauset, embracing Point Care and Slut's Bush, and 
Point Gilbert and Webb's Island, have been removed to make 
Monomoy Point, now extending ten miles south of Chatham 
and the contiguous shoals and rips, where was an open sea 
when Gosnold anchored in 1602. 

In the light of these facts our theory finds strong support, 
if not positive proof. Ships have sailed for a hundred years, 
where stood terra firma in 1602, nine miles from the present 
coast line. The distance from Chatham to southwest Georges 
is about sixty miles. One sixth nearly of this distance is here 
accounted for, which well sustains the opinion, that at no 
very distant day Georges Bank was connected with groups of 
islands, if not mainland, extending to Nantucket and the 
Cape. Old Skipper Joseph Wharf, the father of the late 
Joseph, used to say that he had played ball on Georges, and 
men were living fifty years ago, who said they had seen long- 
strings of gulls sitting on the dry sandbars. 

It used to be quoted as history that an Amsterdam Com- 
pany once proposed purchasing the right to build there a port. 
As my authorities are all long since dead, I make the record 
for what it is worth. 

Matthias Rich of Boston, in connection with his experience 
of the October gale of 1841, which will appear in another 
place, has furnished me with a paper on this topic, from which 
I make what seem to me practical observations, and from 
which it will appear that shoals extend all the way from 
Georges Bank to Nantucket. 

" The Great and Little Round Shoals lie southeast of 
Chatham in sight of land ; vessels going to the Vineyard by 
the South Ship Channel pass between them. The old South 
Shoal lies twelve miles south-southeast from Sancoty Head — 
the bottom hard fine sand ; a pole will rebound as from a rub- 
ber floor. The New South Shoal lies twenty-two miles south- 
southeast from the east end of Nantucket ; is soft sand. A 
lightship is now stationed here. This is a dangerous shoal, 



196 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

out of sight of land. Captain Eldreclge has lately puDlished 
a new chart of Nantucket Shoals, the best extant. 

He has discovered and surveyed a shoal about ten miles 
northeast of New South Shoal, on which is thirteen feet of 
water, called " Eldredge Shoal." 

Captain Rogers has discovered another shoal, say five miles 
east of the Eldredge, with seventeen feet of water, which has 
been called " Rogers' Shoal." 

In easterly gales the sea breaks fearfully on both these 
shoals, and the swift-running tide, always to the leeward, 
throws seamen out of their reckoning. Captain Eldredge and 
others who have studied the situation, now think the fishing 
fleet in the October gale of '41 were lost on these new shoals, 
as a careful examination of the chart shows that had they 
weathered these, they surely would have cleared the New- 
South Shoal. 

As partially corroborating this statement, I will here give 
my own experience. In the summer of 1845, while fishing in 
the South Channel in the schooner Waldemar, a southeast 
gale came on suddenly. We first lay to under double-reefed 
foresail, which we were soon obliged to take in, and lay 
nearly two hours under bare poles with lee rail under water. 
During this time we passed through what we called a tide rip. 
The waves seemed to leap on board from every quarter, 
threatening to swallow us up. 

Soon after passing through this rip the gale moderated, 
when we were surprised to find sand in large quantities 
wherever it could lodge when the sea was washing over our 
vessel. The mortises high up aft were full of sand, and con- 
siderably washed into the furled sails. 

"When the gale came on a vessel was near, which we 
expected to see, and looked for when it was over, but no ves- 
sel was in sight. The next day in working back we discov- 
ered considerable stuff belonging to some fisherman, and as 
the Byron of Gloucester was lost in that gale, I have no doubt 
she was the one near us, and was lost on the shoal which we 
passed over. I knew we were a long distance east of the 
South Shoal. It is my present conviction that these are the 



GEOLO GICALL Y CONSIDERED. 1 9 7 

shoals lately discovered by Captains Eldredge and Rogers, 
and that they thereby have conferred a great benefit upon our 
coast marine." 

STORY OF THE SPARROW-HAWK. 

There has always been a tradition handed down, that old 
Ship Harbor received its name from the ship Sparrow-Hawk, 
cast away there in the early days of the Colony, and that she 
had long been buried by the sand somewhere in Orleans. 
The sixth of May, 1863, Solomon Linnell second, and Alfred 
Rogers of Orleans, discovered on Nauset beach an old wreck 
that had been uncovered within two clays. When first discov- 
ered it was embedded in mud, over which had rested for many 
years a high sea beach that the encroachments of the 
ocean had removed. The rudder found a few feet distant, is 
now deposited in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth. 

The timbers of oak were sound and clean, and with the 
keel and stern-post, were sent to the well-known ship-carpen- 
ters, Doliver & Sleeper, who revived or re-constructed the old 
ship, and wrote an interesting letter referring to her model, 
etc., which was published in a pamphlet, with a history of the 
Sparroiv-Hazvk, called " The ancient Wreck," giving an 
account of '"one of the greatest curiosities of the age." Sub- 
stantially, this is the story : The Sparrow-Hawk sailed from 
England in the fall of 1626, was run ashore in the night, and 
beat over the bar into Polanumaquut Harbor in good condi- 
tion. This was the origin of old Ship Harbor, then in 
Orleans or Eastham. A subsequent storm drove her high up, 
where she was abandoned. Owing to other changes of tide 
and wind she sunk in the beach and was covered by the 
shifting sand. Another change brought still water, always 
favorable to the rapid formation of salt marsh, which spread 
its matted roots like thongs of steel over the sand, and the 
Sparrow-Hazvk was entombed. 

Old Deacon Doane and his sturdy sons and grandsons for 
generations, not to say hundreds of years, had struck their 
broad swathes and piled here their ample stacks of hay, all 



ig$ TRURO — CAPE COD. 

unconscious of the ocean relic beneath their feet. In the 
meantime, old Ship Harbor moved to Chatham, drifting sands 
cover the Doane meadows, and a solid beach is formed, 
against which the broad ocean frets and scours for another 
hundred years. Inch by inch its restless jaws, crying 
like the horseleach's daughter, " Give ! give ! " steal away the 
high-piled sandbank till, after two hundred and thirty-seven 
years the Puritan ship, sticking fast in the same old marsh, is 
disentombed, becoming an object of historic interest. 

If asked why the records of Bradford and Morton and 
Prince and the old mariner Gosnold have not been better 
interpreted, the answer is ready. If the configuration to-day 
agreed with 1626, nothing would be easier ; but they are as 
unlike our present coast and harbor lines as are the descrip- 
tions of Sinbad the Sailor, or Genghis Khan. 

Well does Mr. Amos Otis say : " Where Monamoick Bay 
was, there is a straight line of seacoast ; where an open sea 
then was, now the beaches meet the eye ; and where were 
navigable waters now we see sandy wastes and salt meadows." 

Better than any written description, I here present a copy 
of the map published in 1865, by Mr. Otis in his Discovery of 
an ancient Ship, from which I mostly gather this history. The 
general configuration of the Cape is delineated, and the sup- 
posed boundaries of Isle Nauset and Point Gilbert outlined. 
Mr. Otis remarks that Professor Agassiz is the author of the 
geological theory which the accompanying map delineates, 
and quotes the Professor as saying to his statements after 
repeated visits and careful examination : " I found it as satis- 
factory as any geological evidence can be." 

Hoping that new discoveries may be made and new history 
brought to light, I most respectfully encourage a careful study 
of these outlined eastern headlands of 1602, and all the facts 
herewith submitted referring to the extraordinary changes of 
the past, as known in the history of Cape Cod. Also that in 
every town, the physical changes constantly taking place 
should be noted with accuracy. Since 1865 a portion of 
Chatham has been washed away, necessitating the removal of 
the lighthouses and several dwellings. 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 



199 




PART OF CAPE COD.- POINT CARE AND POINT GILBERT OF l602. 



I have seen another map, now in the hands of Mr. David 
Pulsifer, in the Secretary's office at the State House. It is 
not my fault that I am not able to place that valuable map in 
this history. It is called -The Sea of New England;" was 
made by Captain Cyprian Southack in 1717, while in the dis- 
charge of his duties as a government agent, sent out to look 
after & the pirate ship Whidah wrecked on the back side of 



200 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Wellfleet, near the tableland of Nauset, in the memorable gale 
of April 26, 1 717. 

THE FIRST CAPE COD CANAL. 

The map shows an open channel from the bay to the 
ocean, following nearly the present boundaries of Eastham 
and Orleans. On the channel, as made in this map, a whale 
boat is drawn, with this notice : 

The place where I came through with a whale boat, being ordered by ye Gov- 
ernm't to look after ye Pirate Ship Whida, Bellame, Command'r, cast away ye 
26th of April, 17 17, where I buried one Hundred and Two Men Drowned. 

It is generally accepted that this channel was made by that 
gale. How long it remained in a navigable condition is inti- 
mated by the following record referring to the same storm : 

The sea forced a passage through, making the Cape and island, and a whale 
boat passed through the channel. It required a general turnout of the people, 
and great efforts to close it up. 

As late as 1804 committees were appointed by Eastham 
and Orleans to report upon the practicability of uniting Town 
Cove and Boat River Meadow by a navigable canal. Appli- 
cation was made to the legislature for authority to raise 
funds through a lottery. A connection was made, but owing 
to too much or too little current, the channel could not be 
kept open. 

There is also described a channel from Nauset Harbor in 
Orleans to Chatham, cutting off Monomoy Point, which is 
here called Webb's Island, the extreme southern end being 
Monomoy Point. In this last description the old captain evi- 
dently was tangled in his geography, as all authorities agree 
that Webb's Island was east of Chatham. The only towns 
mentioned on the map are Truro, Eastham, Yarmouth, Barn- 
stable and Sandwich. 

During the long, terrible northeast storms that not unfre- 
quently visit our coast, surprising, and almost incredible 



GE OL O GICA LEY CONSIDERED. 2 o 1 

changes take place, suggestive of the results of thousands of 
years. A North Truro correspondent of the Provincetown 
Advocate, writing from the Highland, says: "There was an 
upper beach between the bank and high water of some eight 
or ten rods, upon which the tide never came. This was a 
pleasant resort, to see the sea roll in ; and, in storms, to wit- 
ness its fury to the best advantage. The whole of this upper 
beach has been cut down nearly twenty feet during the late 
storms." 

Surprising changes are constantly going on in the physical 
world. Witness the coral islands of the Pacific, and the sand 
islands of the Arabian Sea. I believe the changes referred to 
are of quite modern date, but will not venture further. The 
science of geology is rich in years of relative, if not of abso- 
lute time, which she applies with royal freedom. Under her 
broad wing, I should not hesitate to be more definite, say to 
locate the time in the tertiary period, as it is understood 
that in this single aeon, between the Eocene and Recent 
period, not more than five hundred millions of years are 
claimed ; that is to say, not ten hundred millions of years. 
On this basis, not over four hundred millions of years are 
deemed necessary to place the crust of our planet in a condi- 
tion for the support of animal and vegetable life. 

Millions of aeons have rolled away, 
In the grand chorale which the stars rehearse, 

Since the note, so sweet in our song to-day, 
Was struck in the chord of the universe. 

We feel but the pulse of that viewless Hand 

Which ever has been, and still shall be, 
In the stellar orb and the grain of sand, 

Through Nature's endless paternity. 

We send our greeting through breathless space, 

To our distant cousins, the nebulae, 
And catch, in the comet's misty trace, 

But a drifting leaf from the tribal tree. 

— Song of the Carbons. 

When visiting Truro from Provincetown, either by steam 
cars, milk wagon or stage coach, take a seat with the driver. 



202 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

As you cross the bridge at Beach Point, fancy yourself 
upon the deck of a vessel, and imagine the long beach before 
you blue water with a short sea. If on the old stage coach, 
and the road bad, it would not require a vivid imagination. 
The well-rounded headland just a few points on your port 
bow will appear to you as it is, as natural a formation of old 
Mother Earth as any land you ever approached. If you have 
been a sailor it will impress you as have a score of solid old 
headlands stretching out in glad welcome to receive you. 
This headland, the "High Head" of Truro, is regarded by 
Hitchcock, and I think by all geologists, as the end of the 
diluvian foundation of Cape Cod. This formation, averaging 
from one hundred to possibly three hundred feet above the 
ocean level, extends south nearly the whole length of the 
Cape, Professor Hitchcock says : " averaging from two to three 
hundred feet." It is generally a tableland, cut longitudinally, 
with considerable regularity, into deep " hollows," or vast 
gulleys, from the ocean to the bay. Also abundance of irreg- 
ular depressions called valleys and " bottoms," which the 
traveller comes upon with as little warning as upon the 
wonderful canons of Colorado. 

The hollows of Truro are perhaps more regular than any 
other part of the Cape. They are delightfully sheltered from 
the bleak winds and storms. The soil is much more fertile, 
and here the trim, fast-anchored houses stand, fearless of 
wind or wave. Thoreau says : " Generally the old-fashioned 
and unpainted houses on the Cape looked more comfortable 
as well as picturesque than the modern and more pretentious 
ones, which were less in harmony with the scenery, and 
seemed less firmly planted." 

Cape Cod houses, nicely painted, with their half-dozen 
typical, well-whitewashed outhouses and tight board fences, 
picturesquely dotted along the hillsides, fall pleasantly upon 
the eye, especially toward the sunsetting, and make a pretty 
landscape picture. They remind one of the little walled 
cities of Palestine that used to illustrate the Sunday-school 
books years ago. 

Sometimes when the hollows are reposing in soft sunshine, 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 203 

the bleak northwest winds are sweeping over the hills and 
plains requiring pea-jacket and mittens to keep comfortable. 
My father had sheltered valleys and little nooks here and 
there about his "farm" where he worked in shirt sleeves 




(LAY POUNDS AND HIGHLAND LIGHTHOUSE FROM THE BEACH. 

most every sunny day of the year. The same peculiarity of 
"longitudinal hollows" prevails in Cornwall, called there 
" Coombs," but with much greater fertility of soil and exub- 
erance of vegetation. 

Bare, bleak and solitary as this northwestern county may be, it is enlivened by 
the numerous and beautiful coombs or valleys, which open into it, and which 
nearly all preserve an absolutely straight course east and west from their origin in 
the moorlands to the sea. Few scenes of the simpler kind remain better impressed 
on the memory than the prospect down one of these tranquil valleys.— Merivale. 

Gales from the west are violent, bending the trees nearly 
horizontal, setting the gravestones at angles, and carrying 
the salt from the ocean across the country ; yet the climate 
is generally mild. Snow and ice and the gloomy fogs of 



2o 4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

London are unknown. Though lying between fifty and 
fifty-one degrees of latitude north of Newfoundland, invalids 
frequent Penzance and Truro, for the sub-tropical atmosphere. 
On New Year's Day geraniums, carnations, fuchsias, and all 
kinds of roses are found in abundance. Vegetables are found 
late and early. 

The Clay Pounds of Truro are not only a great natural curi- 
osity, but as well an object of speculation to the geologist — 
another of those interrogation points suggested by Professor 
Shaler. Nearly surrounded on three sides by the sand hills, 
the other facing the ocean, a perpendicular wall. Here are 
several acres of pure blue clay, rising one hundred to one 
hundred and fifty feet above the ocean. When Isaac Small, 
the grandfather of Thomas Fields and I. Morton Small, sold 
government the lighthouse site, it embraced ten acres. Since 
then (1797) considerable of the bank has crumbled away. 
The clay vein runs across the Cape in a southwesterly direc- 
tion, cropping out on the bay side, just south of the Great 
Swamp. Detached projections have been washed by the 
fierce storms into sharp pinnacles and graceful Gothic points, 
as delicate as if done by a sculptor's chisel. These are the 
Highlands of Cape Cod, the most dangerous point on the 
Cape. No place, perhaps, has witnessed more shipwrecks, and 
nowhere does a northeast gale agonize with more terrific fury 
than against these clay cliffs. The writer's grandfather saw 
a vessel pitchpole into the surf, and not a wisp of her was 
seen after. 

The Highland Light, with powerful Fresnel reflectors, two 
hundred feet above the ocean, crowns the Clay Pounds. 

Like the great giant Christopher, it stands 
Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave. 

Considerable comment has been made upon the associated 
word, pounds. The broken parts of the cliffs have many 
holes or pockets or pounds, into which the water lodges, mak- 
ing pools or wells, which the firm clay holds in pounds. I am 
quite persuaded this is the true idea of the name. 

Professor Hitchcock says the pounds are the highest clay 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 



205 



cliffs he has ever seen, and that the layers are perfectly hori- 
zontal ; but he is in doubt as to their extent. To quote his 
own words : " At present I rest in the opinion that probably 
the plastic clay may exist beneath a considerable portion of 
Nantucket and Cape Cod ; but it is concealed by a more recent 




Mli.III.\ND LIGHTHOUSE. 



tertiary or diluvial deposit." I have observed by the ocean 
shore, at a very low water level, and where the tide has cut 
out the sand, considerable ridges of clay, more mixed with 
nodules of hydrate of iron, than at the Clay Pounds. Some- 
times the surf casts up fragments of the same mixture. 



206 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



It would indicate that large deposits of clay, different 
from the pounds, are contiguous, if not underlying the prom- 
ontory. Professor Hitchcock further observes : " The hills of 
Truro are the most striking examples of diluvial elevations 
and depressions in the State — the surface of an agitated 
ocean, or rather what is called a 'chopped sea.' It is worth 
a journey the whole length of the Cape to see such remark- 
able efforts of diluvial action." The especial location re- 
ferred to is in the neighborhood and southwesterly of the 
South Truro graveyard. I have secured a drawing from the 
striking example referred to by Professor Hitchcock, taken 
more than fifty years ago, which I here present. 

Comparing the " elevations and depressions," hundreds of 
feet high, to a chopped sea may provoke a smile to a Cape 




EXAMPLE OF DILUVIAL DEPRESSIONS VND ELEVATIONS. — Hitchcock's Geology. 

Codman, who knows that mountain waves have a mean low 
altitude, the highest waves known in the North Atlantic 
being about forty feet, or less than twenty feet mean. 

All north of High Head, with all the beaches and the 
whole of Provincetown, where there is scarcely found a rock 
large as a gull's egg, is considered alluvial ; has been at 
sometime cast up by winds, waves, and currents.. 



GEOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 207 

From various causes scant vegetation gains a foothold on 
some tide-tost bar or rift, which collects other moving: sand 
and drift, till ultimately by this process, hills are slowly piled, 
covered with verdure and perhaps trees. By natural phenom- 
ena these may be again stripped, and again blown into the 
sea. I have seen a bank of sand five or six feet high, cast up 
by a single tide, and removed by perhaps the next. Beautiful 
little ponds called "lagoons," the most perfect bathing estab- 
lishments in the world, are often formed on the Atlantic 
beach in a day. Sometimes they remain months, and some- 
times disappear in a night. All the steam engines in the 
world, and all the king's oxen, could not remove till Dooms- 
day, so much sand as the hungry currents swallow in a day. 
It being fairly established that the principal portion of Cape 
Cod is diluvial, the slanderous, oft-quoted remark, that " it is 
the last place the Lord made," falls to the ground. Hence- 
forth know ye " that when the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy," then the founda- 
tions thereof were lain, and the work of his hands pronounced 
he good. Old travellers have noticed the little, conical, grass- 
grown hillocks, thick through the old fields and pastures of 
Truro. Dr. Freeman refers to them. Years ago these piles 
were quite noticeable, and gave the rolling surface an appear- 
ance of African ant villages, as described. It used to be the 
fashion to "half-hill" and "hill" the Indian corn, which 
meant to raise a monument to every hill as high as could be 
piled with a corn-hoe. The foolish fashion, the little mounds, 
and the laborious mound-builders, have all passed away, but 
many will recall the custom and remember the grassy little 
peaks. 

From most any elevation in Truro, the Highland — the 
ancient Tashmuit — and Highland Lighthouse may be seen. 
The little hamlet, composed of the spacious and comfortable 
looking Highland house, the dismantled old grist-mill, which 
for more than a century did honest work, and the few neigh- 
boring houses, may also be seen near by. North of the 
Highland house a short distance, once stood the house of 
Josias Cook, the common ancestor of the numerous Cook 



2 08 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



family now living in Provincetown. A few rods further north 
was the substantial two-story parsonage of Mr. Avery, before 
mentioned. Here was a considerable neighborhood. On the 
left still stands the house of the late Mrs. Paine, from whence 
went the youthful husband to the wrecked CJiarlotte and an 
ocean grave. This house was once owned by Dr. Young, a 
practising physician. He said Truro was too healthy for a 

doctor to make a living, so 
he sold out and moved to 
Wellfleet. Houses once stood 
both sides of the road to the 
Head -of -the -Meadow. The 
widow Annis and the Job 
Avery houses have been re- 
moved almost within the pres- 
ent generation. The house 
of Mr. Bowley, the grand- 
father of the Provincetown 
stock, stood near the present 
Life Saving Station. It was 
while smoking his pipe at the 
cool of the day, under the 
shadow of nis own apple-trees, that the cannon balls from the 
English man-of-war, disturbed the old gentleman's medita- 
tions, by ploughing up the ground around him. 

From the Head-of-the-Meadow to High Head, was uni- 
formly the best land in town, perhaps originally, in the 
county. A loamy soil everywhere thick with shells as the 
shores of Lake Ponchartrain. Dwellings of good dimensions 
and long corn houses, and ample barns for hay and stock, 
stood in all these valleys. The names of the owners may be 
inferred from " Paul Dyer's Bank," " Ridler's Bank," " Stev- 
en's Bank," etc. I suppose all these settlements came under 
the general name of East Harbor, although in later years 
East Harbor wa^ understood as the little cluster of houses 
where lived Captain Ebenezer Atkins. 

It was from these homes that came the thirty-two men who 
lived " north of the pond," and were killed or died in service 




DISMANTLED GRIST-MILL. — HIGHLANDS. 



GE OL O GICALL Y CONSIDERED. 209 

during the Revolutionary War. It can be well said of these 
green spots scattered among the deserted valleys, sites 
once of bustling life, now turned to pastures and pineries, 
whence came men of firm stride, of strong arm and stern 
purpose, as old Lewis Cameron said by Scotland, " Glens, 
that could once send out a hundred bayonets ; belonging now 
entirely to some lowland grazier." A large family of Paines, 
Benjamin, Elkanah, Joshua, Phineas and Elisha, were raised 
among these hills. Old Robert Newcomb, who used to try 
out dog-fish livers, by the light of which to " study the holy 
Scriptures," had a house here. Houses stood thick down 
the broad valley to the shore, where the railroad crosses, and 
near the crossing and bank. A grist-mill once stood on the 
high bluff by the shore. 

A LONELY GRAVE. 

About midway of East Harbor, near a dismal swamp, with 
not a habitation in sight or sound, with not a tree or rock or 
post or sign of life, where the hills rest tier on tier — Alps 
piled on Alps — and the valleys circle deeper and deeper, is the 
solitary grave of Thomas Ridley, who died of small-pox, 1776. 
One hundred and two years after, on the 28th of January, 
1878, I stood by this forlorn spot. It was one of those mild 
winter days in January, that omen a dubious winter night. 
The sun at last struggled through portentous clouds and 
sunk in the distant waters in a blood-red chariot with wild 
black horses and purple-clad footmen. 

And topples round the dreary west 
A looming bastion fringed with fire. 

The dark slate headstone lay scattered in fragments about 
the grave. By careful matching, the name and date was 
made, though part of the stone was missing. 

Professor Hitchcock's visit to Truro was fifty years ago. 
He expresses considerable surprise to find such productive 
farms as the Messrs. Small, at the north part of the town. 
"When one has proceeded so far toward the extremity of 



2io TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Cape Cod as to judge from the landscape around him that he 
has got almost beyond the region of vegetation, his attention 
s suddenly arrested by excellent farms in the northern part 
of Truro. Three miles beyond his house ( at East Harbor ) 
Mr. Small took me to a field of several acres, where the soil 
appeared of a dark color, and abounded with fragments of 
shells, particularly the round clam, or quahaug. Fifty bushels 
of Indian corn had been raised upon an acre without manure. 
An analysis of the soil showed the following proportions : — " 

Carbonate and sulphate of lime 21.30 

Phosphate of lime .35 

Soluable geine (humus) 3.75 

Insoluble " 1.50 

Silicates 73 l ° 

After the salt and lime, the residue, silicate (flint), nothing 
but the common white sand of Cape Cod. The above anal- 
ysis demonstrates how far our sand enters into productive 
soil. White sand is barren. Red sand has more life — is 
more likely to be mixed with loam. A little clay or loam 
mixed with red or dark sand produces a soil of superior char- 
acter. A larger share of silicate or sand is more desirable in 
farm lands than is generally understood. 

There are on the Cape thousands of acres of valuable 
cranberry bogs, fine vegetable gardens, and patches of rich 
meadow, that have been redeemed from swamps and salt 
marshes. These improvements are in their infancy. More 
acres are still seething in their native sloughs, and millions of 
tons of virgin sand-banks waiting by their margin for strong 
hands and a wheelbarrow. These stagnant marshes and 
oozing bogs, are susceptible of the highest cultivation under 
the sun. With the labor and fertilizers that are devoted to 
other lands in the State, they would bud and blossom as the 
rose. For English grass, pears, quince, small fruits, all kinds 
of vegetables or corn, a large product is possible. 

The income on well-managed cranberry bogs is sometimes 
quite fabulous. In 1874, a middle-aged man died in Harwich, 
who had for several years devoted his leisure time and some 
Uttle money to cranberry bogs. His entire outlay was com- 



GEOLOGICALL Y CONSIDERED. 2 1 1 

paratively small, as he had not made it a business. The year 
of his death, the net income to his family was nearly equal to 
one hundred thousand dollars of Government bonds. So these 
sand banks may pay respectable dividends. Over seven thou- 
sand barrels of cranberries were shipped from Harwich in 1882. 
All visitors at the Cape are surprised at the product of the soil. 
They wonder over and over how sand can bear a crop. There 
are many causes that enter into this apparent phenomena 
that need not here be fully explained, but as surely prove 
sand a fertilizer. When seasons of great whirlwinds, called 
sand showers, carry the sands from the desert of Gobi, in 
China, miles away over the country, these years are always 
marked as of unusual fertility and plenty. Who, familiar 
with a sandy soil, has not noticed how much greener grass 
grows where a little sand has overrun the surface. For cer- 
tain soils, it is well-known that a top-dressing of fine sand is 
more valuable than manure. It contains fertilizing agencies, 
and clearly shows chemical action, perhaps by absorbing- 
gases and stagnant water, and loosening the soil to heat and 
air. For bedding cattle, especially in warm weather, a fine 
dry sand bank would be better than the hay or straw rick : 
for man, beast, and the compost heap. 

< Barn yards that become like cellars, should be kept level 
by constant filling ; and a load dropped wherever moisture 
stands, would not only make a clean absorbent, but add to 
the product. Hygienically considered, sand freely distributed 
in low, damp, typus-breeding spots, would save doctors' bills, 
and perhaps preserve cherished lives. Nothing is so cheap 
and clean and perfect a protection from ice-falls. 

On the south shores of Cornwall, may be seen at low water, 
long trains of carts, perhaps a hundred at a time, winding 
their way to the farms among the hills, laden with a fine dark 
sand washed up by the channel. This mixed with the hard, 
red, clayey soil, produces fine results. The money spent for 
fertilizing English farms would drive crazy an American 
farmer unacquainted with the process. 

The established rental (1878) for good farm lands in Ire- 
land, is four pounds per acre. Twenty dollars a year for an 



2i2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

acre of land, to be paid out of the soil ! An amount that 
would purchase a Government Patent to a quarter section of 
land in our great West as fair as the sun blesses. The esti- 
mate in Ireland for acreage product is one steer, one cow 
and calf, three calves, or four or five sheep. 

I am well persuaded that about our creeks, marshes and 
swamps, may be found deposit sufficient to make the light 
soil of the Cape more productive than average farm lands of 
Massachusetts. Could these be spread broadcast in the fall, 
receive the action of winter frost and snow, a little lime at 
ploughing, with usual fertilizers, a goodly harvest would fol. 
low. To a greater or less extent, all this is within reach, with- 
out, comparatively, money or price. If done at all, it would be 
at a time when man and beast neither toil nor spin. As I under- 
stand, geine is the most essential element for crop results. 
By referring to the analysis of the land that produced fifty 
bushels of corn per acre without manure, only 3.75 parts 
were geine. This shows quite conclusively, how small a pro- 
portion our soil requires of the right food supply, to produce 
crops, and may suggest some systematic or scientific appli- 
cation of feeding our land. 

The doctor who gives but one kind of medicine for all dis- 
eases, would be no more an empiric than the farmer who 
gives one kind of medicine for all diseases of land. Unques- 
tionably, our soil, though light, originally was quite fertile, 
and being fed with rich atmospheric supply, bore excellent 
crops ; but the bond-masters required brick without straw. 
I speak advisedly, saying there is not a spot in New Eng- 
land that gives better returns for the outlay. I have seen 
corn growing in the sandy soil of Truro at the rate of a hun- 
dred bushels per acre. This was a small lot, under high cul- 
ture, but it demonstrates the possibilities. I have travelled 
in, and am somewhat familiar with, all the great corn States 
of this country. The average acreage product of any State, 
would probably fall below our ideas. 

The Western farmer can now afford to raise our corn at a 
profit, because he works the rich virgin prairies at a nominal 
cost, free of fertilizers. But Western lands are under nat- 



GE OL O GICALL Y CONSIDERED. 2 1 3 

ural laws, and will in time wear out ; they must be restored 
or abandoned. I have seen millions of acres in Missis- 
sippi and Alabama, once valuable cotton plantations, liter- 
ally starved to death and turned out of doors. 

A traveller observes, that where the over-cultivated fields 
of Truro were exhausted of geine, large patches of Hudsonia, 
H Ericoides, or false heath-plant, and of the H Tomentosa, or 
poverty grass, so well known, were frequent. They grow a 
thick mat upon the soil, and, he thinks, cannot fail to collect 
some vegetable and animal nutriment. 

Thoreau, with sharper eyes, notices that while the north 
and east side of these patches, exposed to the rough winds, 
are sere and dead, the leaward or sunny sides are flourishing 
'in bright green, and smiling with delicate yellow flowers. In 
a field of Sableaux, he thought it should be the coat-of-arms 
of Barnstable County, and he should be proud of it. 

Wherever this plant strikes its roots, the surface is fast, 
for it casts a thousand anchors out of the stern, and every 
other part of the ship, and holds on. Being an air-feeder, it 
mats the ground with its roots like clover, and wherever 
ploughed under, a tall hill of corn or extraordinary ruta- 
bagas are sure to flourish on the turn of their fortunes. 

Called by a better name, the poverty grass might be 
regarded almost a beautiful plant ; it is ten thousand times 
handsomer than the cactus, often cultivated, and possibly may 
be put to some practical use. 

The unsightly furze or gorse of England and Ireland, that 
until lately has been supposed of no use but a shelter for 
foxes in the chase, when cut young and mashed has been 
found a valuable feed for cattle. Many of the mines of Corn- 
wall that have supported and improved that country, are now 
partially idle. Distant colonies have divided their bread. It 
is now determined to cultivate large tracts of furze and 
heather lands, heretofore regarded wild and worthless. There 
are this day in volcanic Ireland, millions of acres of fever- 
breeding bogs — an acre nearly for every inhabitant — that if 
wisely administered, would employ every idle man in Ireland, 
whose name is legion, and ultimately do more for the Green 



2i 4 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Isle than all the terrorism on the one side, and cobweb leg- 
islature on the other, from the days of O'Connell down to 
that prince of demagogues, Parnell. Labor, and a wise 
improvement of the soil, are the checks and balances ; the 
political economy written in the first law to man. 

Kendell wrote in 1807 : "The surface of Truro is in a great 
part hilly, with a soil of gravelly loam, supporting lofty 
wood, and hollowed into verdant and well-watered vales, but 
with tracts of sand near the inlets to the sea, either drifting 
in the wind or supporting a thick growth of beach-grass. 
Several rivulets and ponds present themselves, and the whole 
landscape has much that is romantic." 

Where stood the "lofty wood" which Kendell saw seventy 
years ago, is now barren hills. The most imperative duty to 
every citizen on the Cape, is to plant trees. Let every waste 
spot be covered. It is no longer an experiment, but a profit- 
able investment, as has been proved over and over. A 
pleasant old gentleman said to me : " I was sixty-five year old 
when I fust planted pine seed. My neighbors said, ' What on 
'arth are you planting pine seed for ? You don't never 
expect to raise pine-trees ? ' but I have cut with my own 
hands and enjoyed burning them trees for years. If I was 
younger, I would cover every foot of old land I own or could 
buy." I have measured symmetrical trees twenty-five inches 
girth, in a flourishing forest, where twenty-five years ago was a 
bleak, wasted, sandy hilltop. In some parts of France, par- 
ticularly Bayonne, vast acres of land once a drifting sand 
desert, now constitute the wealth of the inhabitants. 

Cover the barren, sand-scarred hills, and the deep sheltered 
valleys, with the ever-verdant, healthful pine. Bring back 
the birds, and the beast, and most to be desired of all, the 
summer showers, that are now driven away by the heated 
atmosphere. Let them fall on the just and the unjust. The 
Cape has need of the old Cornish adage, " A shower every day, 
and two on Sunday." Let them come. 

It has many advantages over heavy lands. It needs no 
drying up ; and as soon as the frost is out, ploughing and 
planting may begin. Since early vegetables have been in 



GEOL O GICA L L V CONSJDEKED. 



215 



demand for the Provincetown market, more attention has been 
given to early planting. I have seen peas up and looking 
well, while the farmers around Boston were waiting for their 
lands to dry for ploughing. More attention to land in shel- 
tered sunny exposures would perhaps be advantageous. 

We frankly admit that some of these observations and con- 
clusions are somewhat speculative and open to objections. 
Plato said mathematics alone was solid knowledge. Who in 
this world of speculative philosophy, shall lay the line and 
plummet ? Is it not better to grasp here and there a fact, or 
follow here and there an open door, hoping thereby to find a 
great truth, or to be led into a broader light, than to shut 
our eyes and grope eternally like blind men in prison houses ? 

Nature's time-table is not graduated by human observation. 
" One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thou- 
sand years as a day." We live under laws belonging to the 
great universe of matter, or spirit, of which our little planet 
is a fraction, but of which this sandy little promontory is as 
important as the sun, and governed by laws as eternal and 
unchanging. 

If it has taken a good while to do some things in this world, 
there has always been just time enough. Nature has time 
for all her work in her own way. Amen. 




CHAPTER XII. 
1715 — GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN— 1750. 

1 destruction of the Forest. Lawless Sojourners. Increase of Fishing Ships. Importance 
of Cape Cod Harbor. Drifting Sands. Government Jobs. Stout's Creek. Hog 
Island. Parran Porth. St. Patrick and St. Andrew. St. Prian and His Tomb. 
Schools. Schoolmaster Spear. Doncastor. Office a-begging. Economy. High 
Sense of Honor. Samuel Winter. The Humane Man. Bellamy the Pirate. The 
" Whidah.'' Cob Money. Haley's Island House. Captain Kidd. Schoolhouses. 
Value of Land. Province Treasury. Storms of 1723 and 1635. Richard Mather. 
Hector the last Slave. Bill of Sale. Manumitted. The General Court. The 
Minority hold the Fort. The Majority Appeal. Proprietors of 1730. Petition 
for a New County. Dr. Dyer. Records of 1733. Ice Punch in July. Memorial. 
Longnook. Land Bank Scheme. Sam Adams. Judge Solomon Lombard. Legisla- 
tion. Deacon Joshua Freeman. Severe Drought. 

AT a meeting of the proprietors of Truro convened April 
26, 1 7 1 5, land was sold to Michal Atwood, Beriah Smith, 
Josiah Cook, Francis Small, Ebenezer Hurd, William Dyer, 
Samuel Small, Samuel Young, Thomas Paine Jr., Jonathan 
Paine, Edward Covell, Joseph Young, Ebenezer Smith, and 
Jonathan Dyer. A further division of land to the proprietors 
was ordered. At the same meeting "the proprietors have 
taken into consideration the great waste and destruction that 
is made upon the common and undivided land, within said 
proprietie, by cutting down much wood, and letting of it lye 
and rot upon the ground, to the great damage of the pro- 
prietors. " 

Cape Cod, being well known as the best harbor on the 
coast, with abundance of wood and water, it early became a 
general resort for many of the European fleet, especially the 
fishermen. These last rapidly increased. "In 1620 there 

216 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 217 

went six or seven ships from the west of England, to fish on 
the northeastern coast of New England. In 162 1 ten or 
twelve; in 1622 thirty-eight; in 1623 forty; in 1624 about 
fifty." A safe harbor to wood and water, and for outfitting, 
without tax or supervision, was a great boon to the fishermen., 
Dr. James Freeman says : | 

Certain portions of the Cape were, in earlier times, the resort at certain seasons, 
of not only fishermen from abroad, who came because of the peculiar facilities 
here afforded of prosecuting their business, but of traders having fishermen in their 
employ, or being desirous of securing shipment. 

We should not blame the proprietors for the desolation of 
the land, as we see they used every effort to protect the 
timber, but in vain. The trees gone, and the cattle running 
at large, the light soil soon became disturbed, or if cultivated, 
soon exhausted. The exposed position and sweeping winds 
soon wrought the finish. Nature is an exacting task-master ; 
she demands an honest equivalent. No bribes, no extortions, 
no corruptions are known in her court. Whether on the thin 
wasted soil of Cape Cod, where the oak and pine struggle to 
fulfil their highest destiny, or — 

Those sunny Isles, that laugh beside the sea; 
Where the bright orange and the citron grow, 

the same inexorable law abides. 

The sand, once cut adrift from its fibrous moorings, moves 
with the high dry winds like driven snow, and in its wild free- 
dom assumes a thousand shapes. Now little wavelets like a 
summer lake ; now a wild billowy sea. On the right, a cone 
built with geometric precision ; on the left, a giant's grave, 
scooped out like the grave of Moses, without hands. To-day, 
it may seem a desert plain ; to-morrow, the home of the 
mound-builders. 

In Provincetown, the glass on the northerly exposed ends of 
the houses has been ground as handsomely as if placed on an 
artist's wheel. 

The moving of the sand, and threatened danger to the har- 



218 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

bor, was early carried to the Legislature, and has received 
various appropriations. The defect, like much other legisla- 
tion, has not been in want of appropriations, but the want of 
a general supervision by a practical commission, and moderate 
appropriations from time to time as needed. Under wise and 
systematic management, the work could be continued at a 
moderate expense. 

Some years ago while driving over Beach Point, where a 
"Government Job" was being done, in company with one of 
those practical common sense men who are not hard to find 
on the Cape, he remarked: "There's a ten-thousand-dollar 
job that when done will not be worth ten cents. ,1 will take 
a contract to make all they want for one thousand dollars." 
I passed the same point in less than six months, and there 
was not ten cents' worth left of this whole work. It is amus- 
ing, if not instructive, to hear the home thrusts made by these 
every-day men to the scientific method, as they term it, by 
which government work is sometimes not done. 

Stout's Creek, before mentioned, was a few rods east of the 
East Harbor Bridge landing. Not only is every trace oblit- 
erated, but the smooth rim of shore rises abruptly twenty feet 
high. The current now cuts the bank, and has laid bare a 
swamp with oak and cedar stumps in good preservation, show- 
ing that here stood heavy timber. 

Less than fifty years ago a large lagoon penetrated several 
rods into the beach. The changes made by the shifting 
sands can best be told by the record of October 17, 1718 : — 

A record of the division of the meadow at Cape Cod within the township of 
Truro, commonly called Stout's Creek Meadow : One lot fell to Thomas Paine 
that is eight pole wide clear across the meadow ; another lot that fell to Captain 
Edward Bangs ten poles in breadth clear across ; and another to Constant Free- 
man sixteen pole wide across the meadow ; other divisions amounting to ten lots 
are enumerated, running from eight to sixteen pole. 

Dr. Freeman wrote in 1 794 : 

Stout's Creek, once several hundred yards wide, and where a number of tons 
of hay were annually cut, now scarcely exists, being almost entirely choked up 
with sand blown in from the beach. 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 219 

The bars at the east end of Provincetown harbor, known as 
"Hog Island," because hogs were there pastured till an extra- 
ordinary high tide overflowed the island, were once covered 
by trees, as evidenced by large stumps still to be seen. 

Cape Cod is not the only sandy place. The honor must be 
divided with others better known to fame. One of these is 
Parran Porth, or Parran Zabulce (Parran in the sands). In 
early days Ireland was the home of saints, and her mission- 
aries invaded England and Scotland. During the Middle 
Ages they made great progress in Christianity. St. Prian, 
one of St. Patrick's bishops, came from Ireland on a mill- 
stone and landed at St. Ives in the fifth century. About the 
same time St. Andrew landed in Scotland, having made the 
passage in a basket. As was the custom of the missionaries 
of the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries, St. Prian built a cell 
for himself and attached a small stone oratory, or baptistry. 
His location was one of the sandy dunes of Cornwall, near 
the coast, about eight miles from Truro, and not far from 
Gwennap, the scene of Hereward the Wake, Charles Kings- 
ley's novel. This whole neighborhood is not lacking in mate- 
rial for romance. 

After St. Prian had sufficiently mortified the deeds of the 
body with prayers and fastings many, and good works abun- 
dant, he also died and was buried in his oratory, which was 
a sepulchre as well. Over this tomb of St. Prian, tradition 
said a church was built. It was according to the custom of 
the age to build a church over the bones of the great saints. 
The church was built some two hundred years after his 
death, and religious rites were held for another two hundred 
years, when it was entirely submerged by sand blown from 
the shore through a narrow gorge in a rocky cliff, that a few 
rods of masonry could have saved from destruction. Years 
after, on this sandy spot, another church was built, that was 
also buried during the last century. The first church was 
tradition, the last history. In 1835, during a great shifting 
of the sand, this long-lost relic that had been buried a 
thousand years, and was regarded generally a myth, was 
again uncovered, with its little baptistry attached, and stood 



220 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

forth to the wondering gaze of the world almost as perfect as 
when swallowed by the devouring sands. Beside the altar 
was found the bones of St. Prian. Since 1835 it has suffered 
terribly by relic hunters and tourists, and is still visited by 
thousands to witness this and other sights with which the 
neighborhood abounds. 

We infer that some kind of schools were maintained from 
the first, but the earliest reference is made in 171 5, March 
2 1 st, when it was ordered, "That Mr. Avery and the select- 
men be a committee to procure a suitable person to keep a 
town school." The committee did not do their duty, for in 

1 716, "The town was presented the last year for its delin- 
quency in not providing a schoolmaster." "January 10, 
Jonathan Paine was appointed to appear in the town's behalf 
at the Court of General Sessions ; and twenty pounds was 
appropriated to pay the schoolmaster for the present half 
year's schooling." An engagement was made with Mr. 
Samuel Spear, " For the entire year, commencing at the 
expiration of his present term for forty pounds and board 
himself." Mr. Spear, afterwards the Provincetown minister, 
graduated at Harvard College, 1 71 5. 

The committee now show a commendable spirit, by making 
a permanent engagement with a learned man. Two hundred 
dollars may seem a small salary for a Harvard graduate, but 
it was a day of small things, and does not suffer in comparison 
with other professors of the time. In Doncaster, England, 
during the time of George the Second, and perhaps to the 
present, — 

Any persons refusing to accept the office of Mayor, Alderman, Capital bur- 
gess, or any other inferior office of the borough, except the recorder's, might be 
committed to the jail till they consented to serve, or fined at the discretion of the 
corporation, and held fast in the jail till the fine was paid. 

By the law of the General Court, every town was entitled 
to a representative, but were not obliged to send one. In 

1 717, the town voted not to send a representative to the Gen- 
eral Court, and affixed to their resolution their reasons : 
" First, because we are not obliged by law to send one ; 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 221 

Second, because the Court has rated us so high, that we are 
not able to pay one for going,." But the school under the 
learned schoolmaster went on. 

Much depended upon a wise expenditure of their limited 
revenue. While they aimed at carrying light burdens, the 
highest sense of justice and equity is shown in all their 
administration. This especially applies to the Indians, who 
then as now were regarded by many as proper subjects to be 
defrauded of their rights, or as having no rights that white 
men were bound to respect. Perhaps the modern doctrine, 
"There is no good Indian but a dead Indian," was in that 
dawning period recognized in fact. On a certain occasion 
they corrected an error and left on record this sentiment : 
"We are not willing that any Indian shall suffer any wrong 
through our means or mistake. " 

At a town meeting in 1718 — 

Thomas Paine Jr., was chosen town treasurer, but inasmuch as said town 
and said Paine could not agree upon a price for said Paine's salary, said town 
proceeded to a new choice and Samuel Treat was chosen Town Treasurer, and 
said town then agreed with said Treat to give him four pence per pound for 
receiving and paying out said town's money. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro, May 13, 1719 — 

Captain Thomas Paine was chosen representative and agreed to give said 
Paine five shillings per day every day that he should spend in the town service. 

At a meeting of the town of Truro, October 17, 1719, Jonathan Vickery was 
chosen moderator. At same meeting said town agreed with Mr. Samuel Winter 
to keep schools in said town the space of one whole year to learn children and 
youth to read and write, which work of service the said Mr. Samuel Winter is to 
begin on the eighth day of November next and continue in said work until the 
term of twelve months be fully ended. In consideration whereof the inhabitants 
of said town are to give and pay to the said Winter the sum of forty pounds in 
payable bills of credit, except in case the said Winter shall see cause to remove 
oversea to Old England before the above said time be expired, then said town is 
to give to him, the said Winter, for what time he shall serve said town in the 
above said work from and after the seventh day of November next, at the rate of 
forty pounds per annum. 

At the same meeting the inhabitants of said town of Truro agreed where the 
school should be kept for the space of a year next after the seventh day of 
November next (viz.), the first quarter at the house of William Dyer Jr., the next 
half year at the house of Captain Constant Freeman, or somewhere thereabout 



222 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

in that neighborhood, and the last quarter somewhere near East Harbor, where 
the inhabitants of that neighborhood shall think fit. 

In 1721 Mr. Winter was engaged to keep the town school one year and three 
months after his present term shall expire. Some dozen years later the school- 
master was represented by Mr. Gibson, a gentleman of more than a common 
share of the milk of human kindness, for which his name has been left on record 
in the following notice: 

Voted to give Mr. Gibson for keeping school, after the rate of ^55, in con- 
sideration of the charge he has been to in supporting the ancient people with 
whom he has lived the winter past. 

Almost everybody born on the Cape has heard of the noto- 
rious pirate and freebooter, Sam Bellamy, whose cruel ex- 
ploits were told in song and story years ago, and whose fate 
is associated with the most remarkable shipwreck known on 
the Cape. Early in April, 171 7, he took seven vessels near 
Cape Cod, which he made prizes. On one of these, he trans- 
ferred seven men, who, after drinking freely, all fell asleep. 
Not so the captain of the vessel, who, watching his chance, as 
a forlorn hope, ran the ship ashore near Truro, where the 
seven men were captured. Six of them were tried before a 
special court of admiralty in Boston, and executed Novem- 
ber 15, 1718. 

On the 26th of April, only a week or two after taking the 
seven prizes, Bellamy's ship, the Whidak, was driven ashore 
in a terrible gale, on the backside of Wellfleet or Eastham ; 
and the whole crew, except one Englishman and one Indian, 
perished. Somewhere near the boundary line between East- 
ham and Orleans, near the old channel, Captain Southack 
buried " One Hundred and Two Men Drowned," as we have 
related in the last chapter. It was current talk on the Cape 
for years, that the Englishman, disguised, used to visit the 
scene of the shipwreck from time to time, to supply himself 
with money buried from the wreck. It is probably a part of 
the story of Captain Kidd's buried treasures. To this day, 
King William and Queen Mary's pennies are picked up. 
Thoreau says he found one. The late William De Costa of 
the Charlestown Advertiser, an old traveller in Truro and 
Wellfleet, which he visited thirty years with but one inter- 
ruption, picked up one on the bars at a very low ebb. The 



GENERAL HISTOK Y OF THE TO WN. 



223 



Wellfleet Oysterman (familiarly known as Uncle Jack New- 
comb) told Thoreau that he had seen the iron caboose of the 
Wkidah on the bars at extreme low course of tides. 

Possibly it was during this same gale, that a house on 
Haley's Island, Isles of Shoals, was washed from its founda- 
tions, and landed on Cape Cod, where it was found, and a box 
of linen, papers, etc., taken out, by which its history was 




SUPPOSED TO BE BELLAMY OF THE WHIDAH. 



discovered. The family had just time to escape; though, 
unaccountable as it may seem, they might all have made the 
passage in safety. The old house spot is now shown on 
Haley's Island. 

Captain William Kidd, not Robert as goes the old song, 
was another notorious pirate, whose name for more than a 
hundred years was synonym of blood and murder. Captain 



224 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Kidd was an Englishman, who sailed from New York under 
a commission to cruise as a privateer against the pirates that 
then infested the whole Atlantic coast. He became himself 
a bold bucanneer, and the terror of the ocean. After years 
of robbery and murder on the high seas, and when great 
rewards were offered for his head, he burned his vessel and 
came to Boston. When arrested, he delivered to Governor 
Bellamont a schedule of sixty-two pounds of gold, about the 
same of silver, besides precious stones, all of which passed to 
government. Marvellous stories have been told of Kidd's 
buried treasures, which have excited the designing and credu- 
lous for generations, but it is doubtful if he ever buried a 
guinea. Currency was given the report because English 
pirates had buried money on Long Island. Within the 
nemory of some now living, the song of which we quote the 
first verse, was sung on every ship that crossed the ocean : — 

My name was Robert Kidd, 

As I sailed, as I sailed ; 
My name was Robert Kidd, 

As I sailed. 
My name was Robert Kidd, 
And most wickedly I did, 
God's laws I did forbid, 

As I sailed, as I sailed; 
God's laws I did forbid, 
As I sailed. 

March 4, 1721. 
The proprietors made choice of Lieutenant Thomas Lumbard, Thomas and 
Samuel Rich, to survey highways near Pamet great meadow, etc. 

Attest, MOSES PAINE. Clerk to said proprietors. 

At the same meeting, said proprietors gave liberty to Lieutenant Thomas 
Lumbert to fence the highway that goes over Squopenik, with two sufficient 
gates, one nigh his house, the other by the river. Lieutenant Thomas Lumbert's 
meadow fence, on the southerly side of Pamet River, is the fence that runs across 
Deer Neck, alias Lumbert's neck, as also the highway that goes down to the 
landing place at the westward of the said Squopenik, as also the highway that 
goes down to the great beach by the easterly side of Samuel Hinckley's land. 

Attest, MOSES PAINE, Clerk. 

"Squopenik" was, or is, the peninsula between Pamet 
Great and Little rivers, and was quite generally mentioned by 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 225 

that name until within fifty years. Being convenient to the 
water on three sides, it was a favorite abode of the Indians. 
Shell and arrow-heads still abound. The soil is naturally fer- 
tile of a clayey loam. There is a tradition that hereabouts a 
squaw broke her neck, from which providential visitation, the 
location was known as Squaw-broke-her-neck, but settled 
into Squopenik. 

March z\,\iz\. At a meeting of the town of Truro, on the day and year 
above written, for giving enlargement to swine by a town vote, according to an 
act passed by the Great and General Court, in the seventh year of the reign of 
His present Majesty, King George; at which meeting, Francis Smalley was 
chosen moderator — at the same meeting said town agreed that the swine be- 
longing to the said town might go at large under such regulations as the law has 
provided. Voted. MOSES PAINE. Clerk. 

Whereas the proprietors of the south part of Truro, at their meeting April 29, 
1724, did give orders to the committee they chose to lay out the undivided par- 
cels of land between Pamet River, and the line between the north and south 
(torn off) in said Truro, to lay a parcel or parcels of land where they should 
judge it most beneficial for the inhabitants of Truro, to erect schoolhouses, 
accordingly, said committee have laid out and bounded two parcels of land for 
that end, and the first parcel lyeth on the southerly end of Richard Stevens' 
land, near his dwelling-house. The second piece of land for the schoolhouse 
lyeth on the northerly side of the Long Nook, so called, that runneth up to Jona- 
than Paine's. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Clerk. 

On the spot last named a schoolhouse stood till 1855. We 
copy the following entry as an evidence of the real value of 
land at this early stage of the settlement in Truro : — 

Truro, April 29, 1724. 

In consideration of eight pounds, one shilling, six pence, in current money of 

New England, sold John Lewis one acre, sixty-three pole more or less. 

JONATHAN PAINE. ) Committee of Proi>rietors 
JONATHAN VICKERY. \ Commiliee °J Proprietors. 

May 6, 1724. 
The same Committee sold Isaac Cole for ten pounds, ten shillings, two acres, 
twenty-six pole. 

This is at the rate of about thirty dollars an acre in the 
first case, and twenty-five in the last, which, considering the 



226 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

value of money at that time, puts a high estimate upon lands, 
though these may have been choice lots. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Truro on the twentieth of May, 
1728, Captain Constant Freeman was chosen moderator. At the same meeting, 
the town agreed to take their proportion of the $60,000 in the Province Treasury, 
and also made choice of Mr. Thomas Mulford, Mr. Jonathan Paine, and Mr. 
Benjamin Collins for the trustees in order to receive it. 

Recorded by THOMAS PAINE. Town Clerk. 

February 24, 1723, occurred "The Great Storm." The 
tide was raised more than four feet higher than ever before 
known. So extraordinary was this storm considered, that 
Cotton Mather furnished the Royal Society of London an 
account thereof. 

Governor Bradford records a " Great Storm " August 5, 
1635, as : "Such a mighty storm of wind and rain as no 
man living in these parts, either English or Indian, ever saw 
before. Began wind southeast. The wrecks of it will remain 
a thousand years." 

In this storm Mr. Richard Mather was on his passage to 
Boston. He says, "That when 'they approached land the 
captain and crew never before saw the like, and had no hope 
of saving themselves." But there was work for Mather in a 
land he had never seen. The good ship that weathered that 
storm landed on the shores of New England a name promi- 
nent for a century among divines, scholars, authors and diplo- 
matists, and that has become a part of our history. This was 
the storm in which Mr. Thatcher with his family was 
wrecked upon the island since known as Thatcher's Island, 
himself only escaping the wreck. It was more a hurricane, 
and great damage was done to the land. Whole forests were 
prostrated. 

HECTOR THE LAST SLAVE. 

Jonathan Paine owned several slaves, among whom was 
Hector. As black as Hector, has for a long time been a well- 
sustained comparison in Truro. More than one hundred and 



GENERAL HISTORY OE THE TOWN. 227 

fifty years ago, Lieutenant Jonathan Paine, son of Thomas 
Paine Esq., the first settler, built the house now occupied by 
John Atkins. The grant for this spot is found in the old 
books as follows : — 

Granted by the proprietors of Truro unto Jonathan Paine, his heirs and assigns 
forever, a bit of land to sit his house upon, lying on the northerly side of the 
by-way near the head of the northerly arm of the meadow, of the father Thomas 
Paine, which arm of meadow is commonly called and known by the name of 
Long Nook ; which bit of land is five pole in length and four pole in breadth, 
and it is bounded at the four corners by four stones. 

May 8, 17 10. 

Attest. THO: PAINE. Clerk to said Proprietors. 

The leaded windows, with small diamond-shaped glass 
brought from England, the broad, deep fireplaces, with two 
wide-mouthed ovens, and the huge chimney stacks, have 
given place to modern substitutes ; and other changes have 
left but little of the original building of 1710. The road then 
running in front of the house, and so through the middle of 
the hollow, now skirts the north side, bounded by a long line 
of well-whitewashed outbuildings, all kept neat and trim from 
year to year. 

Lieutenant Paine was the grandfather of the late Deputy 
Sheriff Ebenezer Paine, and great-grandfather of the present 
Richard Paine, a well-preserved octogenarian living a few 
rods from the old house. He was the owner of a negro ser- 
vant named Joe, who had arrived at middle age without a 
helpmeet to cheer his bond life. Joe intimated to his master 
that he needed a wife. His kind-hearted master promised his 
influence, and, faithful as kind, when he next visited Boston, 
returned with a mate for his servant. If tradition is true, she 
was ugly as the Furies, and black as Erebus. It being Sun- 
day, Joe was at meeting. Upon his return, the face of his 
master and the flurried glances of the family towards the 
adjoining room, indicated the grand crisis. 

"Come, come, Joe," said the Lieutenant, "come see how 
you like her ! " 

Ogling and sidling like a bashful boy, Joe approached, and 
was introduced to his future wife, with whom he lived to the 



22§ TRURO— CAPE COD. 

end of his days. The chronicler sayeth not whether Joe 
accepted all the conditions in good faith or with mental reser- 
vations. Soon after these events — too soon legally — a boy 
child was born, blacker, if possible, than his mother, to whom 
was given the name of " Hector." He it was who three years 
after was the subject of the following bill of sale, the last pro- 
bably ever made in Truro for a human chattel. 

To all people to whom these presents shall come, know ye that I, Jonathan 
Paine of Truro, in the county of Barnstable, in the Province of the Massachusetts 
in New England, yeoman, for and in consideration of thirty pounds of good or 
passable bills of credit, at the province above said, to me in hand paid by Ben- 
jamin Collins of Truro, in the county above said, yeoman, do sell one negro boy 
named Hector, about three years of age, unto said Collins, and I, the said Jona- 
than Paine, do promise to warrant the sale of said negro boy unto said Collins 
his heirs and assigns, against all claims that shall be made at any time from, by 
or under, me or mine, or any person or persons whatsoever, in witness whereof 
I have hereunto set my hand and seal this seventh day of October, in the seven- 
teenth year of his Majestie's reign 1726. 

Signed, sealed and delivered in the JONATHAN PAINE, 

presence of 

Nathaniel Harding. 
Lydia Collins. 

In the Truro Church records, under date of January 27, 
1747, we find : 

Baptized by Rev. John Avery, Hector, negro servant to Mr. Benjamin Collins. 

So the master seems to have had spiritual care over his 
servant, as did Philemon over his servant Onesimus, on which 
the Divine institution was founded. 

Mr. Collins was a flourishing and quite extensive farmer in 
those days, owning hundreds of acres of wood, meadow, and 
high marsh lands at the Head of Pamet near the ocean. He 
cultivated corn quite extensively; wheat, oats and flax to some 
extent. He was the grandfather of the late Captains Ben- 
jamin and Stephen Collins ; the last succeeded to the old 
estate. 

In my boyhood, the broad flat barns, sheds, sheep-houses, 
ricks of hay, and the old house with ells and porches, was a 
place to remember ; but one by one they have disappeared, 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 229 

till but a shadow of its former self, it has passed into the 
hands of strangers from the Azores. Here Hector passed his 
youth and manhood, and, it would seem to us, a long, lonely, 
unloved toilsome life. But he was a faithful servant, a de- 
voted Christian, and seemed content with his lot. As he 
walked or drove to the fields, and amid his labors, we are told 
he prayed audibly and no doubt realized in his daily life that 
experience for which Job so disparingly cried, and that Pliny 
the Elder said was essential to man, " Oh, that I had a day's- 
man. " 

No stone marks Hector's grave, but the oft-quoted expres- 
sions, " Old Hector," " Hector's Bridge, " " Hector's Nook, " 
and " Hector's Stubble, " are his enduring monument. 

A few years since, an interesting notice of Hector was 
read before the Truro Lyceum, by Mr. Joshua Dyer. To 
him I am indebted for these facts, also for those of David 
Snow and son, and many other assistances in this work. I 
quote substantially from Mr. Dyer's paper : 

" There are those now living who remember Hector, an 
old man, with bleached locks and dim eyes, struggling amid 
the last waves of a toilsome life. He sighed not for Africa. 
Truro was his home, and he knew no other. During a long 
life he had scarce wandered beyond the sound of his lowing 
herds, or the meanderings of the Pamet, which he had paddled 
so often in his little canoe. But Hector looked with faith 
and hope beyond his narrow bounds ; so, laying aside his 
paddles, he steps from his canoe, and stands, white and pure, 
free and glorified, on the banks of the great river of his heav- 
enly home." 

The General Court still continued to be the great umpire 
to settle grievances and distribute justice. Its jurisdiction 
seemed limited only by the scope of possible contingencies. 
It was council, judge, and jury; eyes to the blind and feet 
to the lame. 

In 1726, the people of Billingsgate Precinct were before 
the Court, representing that their minister, Rev. Josiah 
Oaks, had been very unpopular ; that they had invited another 
minister ; but Mr. Oaks, assisted by Mr. John Doane and 



230 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



eight or ten others, had possession of the meeting-house, and 
that the disaffected majority had to worship in private houses; 
that the existing state of things involved great confusion and 
distraction. The Court ordered " that Mr. Oakes proceed no 
farther in the work of the ministry of said parish, but shall 
be paid for the past at the rate of ^80 per annum." 

At a meeting June 26th, 1728, the town agreed to allow Mr. Solomom Lom- 
bard sixty pounds for keeping school in said town one year next coming. Voted. 

Recorded. THO : PAINE. Town Clerk. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Truro on the 22d day of May, 
1732, Sblomon Lombard was chosen Clerk for said day. At the same meeting 
said town agreed not to send a representative to the General Court. Voted. 

Recorded by SOLOMON LOMBARD. Clerk for the day. 

In 1730, February 16, a committee, consisting of Rev. John Avery and Messrs. 
Caleb Hopkins. Elkanah Paine and Humphrey Purington, were chosen by the 
proprietors to prevent cattle and horses going upon the meadows and the beaches 
adjoining. The object was the preservation of the meadows from destruction by 
sands. The committee were to assign to each proprietor his particular propor- 
tion of fence to be made for this purpose. The proprietors at this time were : — 



Henry Atkins, 
Isaiah Atkins, 
Joshua Atkins, 
Silas Atkins, 
Malchiel Atwood, 
John Avery, 
Edward Bangs, 
Jonathan Bangs, 
Jeremiah Bickford, 
Edward Cowell, 
Ambrose Dyer, 
John Conant, 



Henry Dyer, 
Judah Dyer, 
Sam'l Dyer, 
Sam'l Eldredge, 
Constant Freeman, 
Caleb Hopkins,. 
Thomas Hopkins, 
John Lewis, 
Jedediah Lombard, 
Elkanah Paine, 
Jonathan Paine, 
Andrew Newcomb, 



Moses Paine, 
George Picke (Pike), 
Humphrey Purington, 
Richard Rich, 
Thomas Ridley, 
Frances Smalley, 
Isabel Smalley, 
Thomas Smith, 
Joshua Stevens. 
Joseph Young, 
Samuel Young, 
Richard Stevens. 



Owing to the inconvenience and expense of travel, there 
was a growing disposition in favor of making the lower part 
of the Cape into a new county, or of having the court held 
at Eastham. Committees were appointed from the various 
towns, and many conferences held and petitions drawn up. 
In 1738 a large committee was appointed from Truro "to 
petition the General Court for courts in Eastham and for a 
court house and jail to be built there." 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 231 

At a meeting of the proprietors of land in Truro, on Wednesday, the 30th day 
of July, 1740, said proprietors agree and order that there should be a com- 
mittee sent down to view Eastern Harbor beach, and flat ground below Cedar 
Island, to see if it be needful to fence them to preserve Eastern Harbor meadow 
from being destroyed by the sands, and to make report to said proprietors of 
what they think proper to be done. Said proprietors made choice of Elkanah 
Paine, Isaac Atkins and Ebenezer Dyer, a committee for that purpose. Voted. 

At the same meeting voted by proprietors of Eastern Harbor and beach and 
meadows and the land adjoining to Provincetown, to strengthen a memorial 
lately exhibited to the General Assembly of this Province, by some of the inhab- 
itants of Provincetown. 

At a meeting a few weeks later — 

Said proprietors agreed to re-consider, or repeal, and make utterly void a vote 
of the proprietors of said Truro passed at their meeting the 30th of July last 
past, respecting the strengthening of Provincetown memorial. 

At a meeting of the proprietors of lands in Truro, June 6, 1748, proprietors 
chose for moderator Mr. Michael Gross. Proprietors made choice of Messrs. 
Benjamin Collins, Ebenezer Dyer and Barnabas Paine, a committee to view the 
highway that goeth up the head of ye Long Nook to the back sea, and to 
exchange it, or part of it, with Mr. Jonathan Paine and Mr. Samuel Dyer, if they 
will consent, so as to turn it (the road) a little higher up on the northerly side of 
the valley. Voted. 

Provincetown, July 14, 1751. — On the tenth, a man of this town discovered ice 
on the north side of a swamp, and carried a piece to the tavern keeper, who 
treated him with a bowl of punch for his pains. — Boston Post, July 27, 1741. 

About this time the Land Bank Scheme, with a capital, or 
Bills of Credit on land security not to exceed ;£ 150,000 was 
launched, but proved a failure. It was this scheme that 
ruined financially the father of Sam Adams, and many other 
promising merchants. The result was the pecuniary ruin of 
many individuals on the Cape. The depreciation of currency 
had already embarrassed trade and crippled the credit of 
tradesmen. 

The body politic, like the body corporate, passes through 
many stages of ills before it hardens into the bone of a nation. 
The survival of the fittest seems the unwritten law. 

A grant of fifty pounds was made this year (1740) to 
Provincetown for the ministry. The Rev. Samuel Spear, for- 
merly the Truro schoolmaster, who had for some time been 



23 2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

their minister, ceased now from active service. Mr. Solomon 
Lombard, before mentioned as clerk and schoolmaster in 
Truro, preached occasionally in Provincetown for several 
years. He was born in Truro, 1706, graduated at 
Harvard College in 1723. He was installed in the 
new town of Gorham, Maine, December 26, 1750, at a sal- 
ary of 53;£-6s-8d and certain town lots. On account of 
liberal principles, he was dismissed in 1764; became Judge of 
Cumberland County, and was an active patriot during the 
Revolutionary War ; was twice a member of the Provincial 
Congress, and seven years Representative to the Legislature. 
Judge Lombard was a forcible writer, and the author of many 
patriotic and practical papers urging resistance to tyranny. 
He died in 1781. The historian of Gorham says, "Judge 
Lombard was a native of Truro, Mass. An active, indus- 
trious, useful man, a gentleman of learning, talents and sound 
sense." Richard and Ebenezer Lombard, grandsons of the 
Judge, were Methodist preachers. Ebenezer was the first class 
leader in Gorham. The late E. H. Lombard of Hallowell was 
also a grandson. A numerous family in Maine and elsewhere 
claim him as their ancestor. He has never been without a 
namesake in Truro. 

At a church session July 1, 1752, Mr. Humphrey Purington, 
Mr. Barnabas Paine, and Mr. Mulford Eldredge were chosen 
by the written votes of the whole church to serve in the office 
of deacons. 

In 1744 complaint was made to the General Court, "That 
many persons were in the habit of driving down great num- 
bers of neat-cattle and horses to feed on the lands, whereby 
the beaches are very much broken and damnified, occasioning 
the moving of the sands into the harbor to the great damage 
thereof. " 

In 1745 further legislation was made for Cape Cod Harbor, 
also for the protection of East Harbor in Truro. One of the 
provisions were, " That the inhabitants of Provincetown be 
allowed to keep and suffer to feed on the lands, one bull and 
three yoke of oxen for the inhabitants in general, and one 
horse and one cow for each family in particular ; also such 



GENERAL HISTOR Y OF THE TO WN. 233 

persons as shall have license to keep a house of entertain- 
ment, was to have liberty to keep two cows. Also the for- 
bidding cutting down of trees growing within one hundred 
and sixty poles of highwater mark. " 

November 23, 1746, Mr. Humphrey Purington desired a 
dismission from the office of deacon, and his desire was 
granted by a vote of the church. At a church meeting, 
August 22, 1750, Mr. Joshua Freeman was chosen by the 
written votes of the church to serve in the office of deacon. 
Deacon Freeman who long served his day and generation both 
in Church and State with great satisfaction, was the youngest 
of the family of the first Constant. His name will be found 
in the family list. It is related that on one occasion when 
occupying the deacon's seat, the singers waiting him to line 
the hymn, his spectacles were missing, when he promptly 
said : — 

My eyes are very dim, I cannot see at all, 

I left my spectacles at home hanging 'gainst the wall. 

His house or some part of it, is now the homestead of Cap- 
tain Atkins Hughes. April 17, 1749, gave leave to Barnabas 
Paine and Job Avery to open the hedge by the old Try Yard 
on the southerly part of the Indian Neck. September 25, 
1749, Messrs. Paul Knowles, Joshua Atkins, and Barnabas 
Paine, were a committee to take care of the ministerial wood- 
land in said Truro. Also to bequest of Mr. Avery a power 
of attorney to sue any person or persons, that shall presume 
to cut wood from said ministerial. 

The "Ministerial" is still a wood lot with its boundaries 
well defined. In 1746 the town memorialized the Court, show- 
ing their needy condition and asking for means of defence. 
A supply of small arms and four Dound cannon and ammuni- 
tion was granted. 

ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERE DROUGHT OF 1749. 

(From a Manuscript of Mr. James Blake of Dorchester.) 

This summer was the severest drought in this country that has ever been 
known in the memory of the oldest persons amongst us. It was a dry spring; 
and by the latter end of May the grass was burnt up, so that the ground looked 



234 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



white ; and it was the sixth day of July before any rain (to speak of) came. The 
earth was dried like powder to a great depth ; and many wells, springs, brooks, 
and small rivers were dried up, that were never known to fail before ; and the 
fish in some of the rivers died. The pastures were so scorched that there was 
nothing green to be seen ; and the cattle waxed poor, and by their lowing seemed 
to call upon their owners for relief, who could not help them. * * * 

English hay was then sold for ^3 and .£3-10, old tenor, per hundred. Many 
cut down their grain before it was ripe for fodder. 
************* 

In the time of our fears and distress the government ordered a day of public 
fasting and prayer : And God was graciously pleased to hear and answer our 
petitions in a very remarkable manner. 

About the sixth of July the course of weather altered, and there came such 
seasonable and plentiful rains, as quite changed the face of the earth, and the 
grass, which we concluded was wholly dead and could not come again under 
several years, was recovered, and there was a good second crop of mowing. It 
looked more like the spring than the latter part of the year; and the Indian corn 
recovered and there was a very good harvest. 

Upon the coming of the rains, and the renewing of the earth, the government 
appointed a day of thanksgiving. God in his providence ordered a moderate 
winter. May 1750, butter was 7s and 6d, old tenor, per lb. June iS, 1750, was 
said to be the hottest day ever known in the northerly part of America. 



f~ : M. 





















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i£^£#^~ X v 





CHAPTER XIII. 

.755 — REV. CALEB UPHAM — 1786 — THE SECOND 

SP:TTLED MINISTER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 

IN TRURO. 



Call of Mr. Charles Turner. Acceptance. Release. Quit-claim. A Whale breaks up 
the Meeting. Call of Mr. Upham. His Model Answer. His Ordination. Notice 
by Rev. James Freeman. Mr. Upham a Poet. His Work. Scotch Practice re- 
pealed. The Psalms vs. Tate and Brady. Close Vote. Church Singing. Stern- 
hold and Hopkins. Majesty of God. Rous' Version. Marquis of Lome. Para- 
phrasing. Bay Psalm Book. Lampooning. Church enlarged. Sale of Pews. Dea- 
con Anthony Snow. Christian Forbearance. A Briton. Deacon Ephraim Harding. 
Mr. Upham's Death. A Patriot. The Graveyard. The Names. Schoolmaster 
Hincks. His Marriage. Gen. E. W. Hincks. Rev. Samuel Osborn. Church Con- 
sistory. 



DURING Mr. Avery's illness and for a few weeks follow- 
ing his death, the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. 
Isaiah Lewis of Wellfleet, Rev. Stephen Emery of Chatham, 
Rev. Joseph Crocker of Eastham, all of whom are entered 
by that conscientious scribe, Deacon Moses Paine, as also all 
the texts from which they preached. For instance, Mr. Lewis' 
texts were, Hebrews xiii. 7; John xiv. 2-3. May 26, 1754, 
Mr. Charles Turner preached his first sermon in Truro, after 
his call. His texts were, Jeremiah viii. 20 ; and Revelations 
xv. 5-7. 

At a meeting of the Church in Truro, July 3, 1754, Mr. Charles Turner, by a 
vote of the Church was chosen moderator till he should be ordained in this 
Church, or by Divine Providence be removed from the Church. 

Ent.by MOSES PAINE. 
2 35 



> 3 6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

At a meeting August 19, 1754, Mr. Charles Turner, Moderator, proposed to 
the Church if they were willing to pay the funeral expenses of their late reverend 
pastor, and it was conceded to, that a paper be prepared that as many of the 
Church as were of a willing mind might sign for that purpose. At the same 
meeting the Moderator proposed to the Church, the difficulties that attended his 
taking the oversight of the Church of Christ in this town as a gospel minister, by 
reason of his parents dissenting, and his own infirmities, and desired the Church 
would release him from his obligations to them as their pastor elect. At the 
same meeting the Church agreed and voted that upon the neighboring ministers 
advising thereto, they would give Mr. Charles Turner a dismission and recom- 
mendation, and also voted that Benjamin Collins, Shubael Hinckley, Moses 
Paine, Joseph Smalley, Deacon Joshua Freeman, be a committee to do the same 
upon the aforesaid advice. Consetited to. 

CHARLES TURNER. 



Mr. Turner graduated at Harvard College in 1752. The next 
year he engaged as schoolmaster in Truro, his pay to be forty 
pounds and diet for three months. He soon commenced 
preaching in connection with his teaching, which led to his 
engagement as a successor to Mr. Avery, as already stated. 

The following is Mr. Turner's receipt for dismission, or 
release of contract. I have not dared to follow the history of 
the man that could or would write such a document for such 
an occasion. 



Know all men by these presents, that I, Charles Turner, of Truro, candidate 
for the ministry, for and in consideration of twelve pounds, sixteen shillings, law- 
ful money in hand paid to full satisfaction by the inhabitants of Truro aforesaid, 
have remissed, released and forever quit-claimed : and by these presents do for 
me, my heirs, executors and administrators remise, release and forever quit-claim 
into the inhabitants of said Truro, their executors, administrators and successors 
il and all manner of action and actions, writings, obligations, covenants, con- 
1 1 acts, debts due or arrears of accounts, sum and sums of money, controversies 
damages and demands whatsoever both at law and equity which against them the 
said inhabitants, I ever had, now have, or which I, my heirs, executors and admin- 
istrators shall or may have claim, challenge or demand for or by reason or means 
of any act, matter, cause or thing, for or by reason of my being called to the 
work of a gospel minister among them, but more especially I do quit-claim, 
exonerate and discharge the said inhabitants of ye town of Truro all and all man- 
ner of dues and demands of my heirs, executors or administrators might have by 
reason of any contract said inhabitants made with me by ye committee bearing 
date ye twenty-third day of October, 1753, and so from the twenty-third day of 
October aforesaid to the present date. 



REV. CALEB UPHAM. 



237 



In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of 
August, 1754. 

In presence of us, CHARLES TURNER. 

Barnabas Paine, 

Thomas Lombard, 

Paul Knowles. 

Rev. Mr. Caleb Upham was very soon called to fill the 
place of Mr. Turner, as the first notice explains : — 

December 15, 1754, the Church in Truro agreed and voted to meet together on 
Thursday next, the 19th of this instant, at one of the clock afternoon at the house 
of Deacon Moses Paine, to consider of giving Mr. Caleb Upham a call to the 
ministerial office in this Church, who had for some time been preaching in this 
town upon probation. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Moderator. 

At a meeting of the Church, January 9, 1755, it was voted to extend a call to 
Rev. Caleb Upham, and a salary of fifty-three pounds, six shillings, eight pence 
per annum was voted him, with a settlement of eighty pounds and use of the 
parsonage. 

February 10th, a meeting was called to hear and act on Mr. Upham's answer, 
when it was voted that inasmuch as many of the inhabitants are called away 
from the meeting by news of a whale in the Bay, this meeting be adjourned to 
February nth, one day. 

At the adjourned meeting, February nth, an addition of six pounds, thirteen 
shillings, four pence was made to the salary before voted, making it sixty pounds 
lawful money. Mr. Upham requiring in addition twenty cords of wood per 
annum, to be cut and delivered at his door, this also was conceded. 

February 17, 1755, Mr. Caleb Upham gave the Church and society an answer 
in the affirmative. 

The model Christian answer of Mr. Caleb Upham to the 
Church and people of Truro : — 

Hon'd and Beloved : — It having pleased God in his providence some time 
ago, and after having had some acquaintance with me and my ministerial labors 
among you to incline your Church and society to give me a unanimous invitation 
to settle among you in the office of a gospel minister and for my engagement 
therein, the town having granted me a settlement and salary which I hope may 
be a comfortable sufficiency for my support, and finding so far as I can discern 
that the people have been ever since the invitation first given me and are still 
united in their affections towards me and desirous of my complying with their 



238 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

call. In all which I would humbly eye the hand of the great Disposer of all 
things, and at the same time signify to the people the grateful sense I have of the 
kindness and benevolence expressed, and having taken the important affair into 
serious consideration and I hope sincerely sought to God for His conduct herein 
that the path of duty might be made plain to me and that I might be inclined to 
act agreeable thereto, am now at length come to a conclusion to give my answer 
in the affirmative and to comply to settle with you in the work of the gospel min- 
istry and do accept the settlement and salary provided for me, reserving to 
myself liberty of taking a suitable space of time yearly to visit my parents and 
friends; and I ask your prayers that I may obtain mercy of the Lord to be 
faithful and successful in the work to which I am called, and wishing that every- 
thing which respects the settlement in the place be under the guidance and direc- 
tion of Infinite wisdom, which hath done all things well, and that Grace, Mercy, 
and Peace may be multiplied to you thro' our Lord Jesus Christ. 
I subscribe yours in the fellowship of the Gospel, 

CALEB UPHAM. 
Truro, February 17, 1755. 

At a meeting of the Church in Truro, March II, 1755. Voted 'by the Church, 
that Samuel Eldred, Moses Paine, Joseph Smalley, John Freeman and Richard 
Stevens, be a committee, in the name and behalf of the Church, to agree with 
Mr. Caleb Upham, about the time of his ordination, and what Churches, and 
how many to send to their assistance, and said committee to send letters to said 
Churches in the name and behalf of this Church. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Moderator. 

At a meeting of the Church in Truro, October 22, 1755, the Church by their 
vote thought best to repeal and make utterly void, a vote of this Church, Novem- 
ber 30, 1726, respecting their choosing Ruling Elders, according to the practice 
of the Church of Scotland. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Moderator. 

At a meeting of the Church in Truro, October 27, 1755, tne Church by unani- 
mous vote made choice of Messrs. Benjamin Collins, Joshua Atkins, Barnabas 
Paine, Paul Knowles, John Rich and Ephraim Lombard to strengthen the com- 
mittee that the Church choose to send for the ministers and delegates to assist 
in the ordination of Mr. Caleb Upham ; and that they meet the persons sent for 
at the house of Mr. Joshua Atkins, on Wednesday the 29th, of this instant, at 
eight of the clock in the morning, in order to present Mr. Upham to the ordina- 
tion committee. 

On Wednesday, October 29, 1755, Mr. Caleb Upham was ordained pastor of 
the Church of Christ in Truro. The charge was given him by Rev. Jona- 
than Russell. The right hand of fellowship by the Rev. Joseph Green, of Barr. 
stable. The persons assisting them in laying on of hands were, the Revds. 
Messrs. Stephen Emery, Joseph Crocker, Edward Chever, Isaiah Lewis and 
Abraham Williams. Messengers were Colonel John Knowles, John Freeman 
Esq., Samuel Smith Esq. Deacons Crocker, Knowles, Davis, Chipman, Hig 
gins, Captain Jabez Snow, and several others. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Moderator. 



REV. CALEB UPHAM. 239 

We have not the early history of Mr. Upham. He was of 
the Massachusetts family of that name, a graduate of Harvard 
College, and seems to have entered earnestly and faithfully 
upon his pastoral work. The first entry found in his name 
is as follows : 

November 19, 1756. At a meeting in Truro, voted that Deacon Moses Paine, 
Joseph Smalley, John Rich and Zacheus Rich, be a committee to enquire the 
reason of Lemuel Rich absenting himself from the Lord's table. At the same 
meeting, voted that Jonathan Collins, Deacon Joshua Freeman, and Nath'l 
Lewis, be a committee to enquire the reason of Ebenezer Dyer absenting himself 
from the Lord's table. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Pastor. 

November 28, 1762, Communion Day. At the desire of John Brown, a mem- 
ber of the Baptist Church in Boston, under the pastoral care of Rev. Jeremy 
Candy. Voted that he may occasionally commune with this Church. 

At the same meeting voted, that the Church and congregation should by their 
written votes determine whether to sing the New England version of the Psalms 
or the new version by Tate and Brady. Voted also that said affair should be 
determined on the approaching Thanksgiving, November 29th. November 29th, 
voted at the Church Meeting to sing the N. E. Psalms by a small majority only. 
Yeas, 59. Nays, 52. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Pastor. 

How the melody of those Psalms floats down the years, and 
the bass and tenor of the deep-voiced sons of the ocean min- 
gle with the notes of — 

The girl that sang alto — the girl that sang air. 

How the fifty-nine exulted that they had saved the Church 
from modern corrupting innovations, by the impious hymn- 
singing of Tate and Brady, and how the outvoted, but not 
discouraged minority, determined to renew the fight. 

To the land of the leal they have gone with their song, 
Where the choir and the chorus together belong. 
O be lifted ye gates ! let me hear them again, — 
Blessed song, blessed Sabbath, forever, Amen. 

At the beginning of the last century, the Tate and Brady 
edition of the version of the Psalms succeeded to the old 



2 4 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

standard work of Sternhold and Hopkins, first paraphrased 
and published with the Book of Common Prayer in 1562. 

Thomas Sternhold, Groom of the Robes to Henry VIII. 
and Edward VI., was a zealous reformer. Feeling moved 
with holy indignation at the low character of the songs at 
court, and hoping that a metrical version of the Psalms 
might drive the trashy ditties then so much in vogue, from 
court, Sternhold undertook the task of reform. He built his 
own imperishable monument when he wrote " The Majesty 
of God:" — 

The Lord descended from above, 

And bowed the heavens most high, 
And underneath his feet he cast 

The darkness of the sky. 

In 1643, the House of Commons recommended in its stead 
the version of Francis Rous, a native of Cornwall, to the 
assembly of divines at Westminster. The last edition of the 
Rous' version was generally accepted by the Scotch Kirk, 
and became the basis of the authorized version now in use: 
but the English clung to Sternhold and Hopkins till super- 
seded by Tate and Brady. 

The present Marquis of Lome has lately published para- 
phrases of the Psalms, intended as 'a substitute for the author- 
ized version of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, of 
which he is a member. Rous' version is the Psalms of 
David paraphrased, without which no minister of the Scotch 
Presbyterian Church will enter a pulpit at home or abroad. 

Though sometimes rustic was the sound, I'm sure that God was praised, 
When David's words to David's tune five hundred voices raised. 

The following is from the eighty-third Psalm — Barton. 

Do to them Lord as in that day 
When Midjan's host was strook : 
As Jabin fell at Sisera, 

O'er them at Kishon's brook 
While miserably perished 

At Endor. 



REV. CALEB UP HAM. 241 

From the Bay Psalm Book, 51st Psalm : — 

Purge me with hysop & I clean 
shall be : me wash and than the snow 
I shall be whiter — make me know 
joy & gladness, the bones which so 

Thou broken hast joy cheerfully shall 
Hyde from my sins my face away 
blot thou iniquities out all 
which are upon me anyway. 

From the 72nd Psalm — Bay Psalm Book. 

Of corn an handful there shall be 

land the mountain tops upon. 

The fruit thereof shall morning shake 

like to the trees of Lebanon. 

And they that of the city be 

like grass on earth shall nourish all. 

How an Englishman lampooned these solemn versifica- 
tions : — 

Sternhold and Hopkins had great qualms 
When they translated David's Psalms, 

To make our souls full glad : 
But had it been poor David's fate 
To hear us sing, or they translate, 

By Jove 'twould 've made him mad. 

May 9, 1766. — At a Church meeting, Mr. Anthony Snow was chosen by the 
written votes of the Church into the office of a Deacon. 

August 24, 1766: — Violet, negro woman, a slave of Mr. Avery, made her 
peace with the Church by acknowledgment, and so was qualified to receive the 
ordination of baptism. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Paster. 

The two following entries show the jealous oversight of the 
Church toward her membership, the painstaking to maintain 
a pure standard of morals, and consistent Church discipline. 

At a Church Meeting, August 10, 1774, voted unanimously that Frances 
Smalley for unguarded speeches, and Elisha Dyer for unnecessarily withdraw- 
ing from the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, are suspended till they have given 



242 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

satisfaction to this Church. Also voted that Nathaniel Lewis, Ephraim Lom 
bard, and Jesse Newcomb, be a committee to inform Francis Smalley and Elisha 
Dyer of the forementioned vote of the Church. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Pastor. 

August 14, 1774. — Communion day Frances Smalley and Elisha Dyer made 
their peace with the Church by acknowledgment, and were restored to their 
former standing by a vote of the Church. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Pastor. 



So, within four days, the committee had faithfully dis- 
charged their duty towards their erring brethren, they had 
confessed their faults according to the Spirit and teaching of 
Christ and the rules of the society, and were restored to the 
confidence and peace of the Church, to the comfort of their 
own hearts ; and this record has come down for our edifica- 
tion. 

November 23, 1775. — At a Church Meeting, Mr. Ephraim Harding was chosen 
by the written votes of the Church unto the office of a deacon. At the same 
meeting a committee was appointed to repair the burial place. 

Attest. CALEB UPHAM. Pastor. 

The above is the last record by Mr. Upham. The last 
baptism recorded by him was Elizabeth, daughter of Peter 
Wells, October 31, 1774, making 1344 baptisms by his hands. 
Mr. Upham died April 9, 1786. During the two years while 
Mr. Upham was unable to preach, and before the ordination 
of Mr. Damon, the baptisms were recorded by Revds. Levi 
Whitman of Wellfleet and Samuel Parker of Provincetown. 
July 17, 1785, there are several baptisms recorded in a bold 
off-hand, over the signature of Rev. William Hazlett, a 
Briton. 

As this was soon after the war, the inference is that Rev. 
William Hazlett was a chaplain of an English man-of-war, 
and occasionally preached and did pastoral duty for Mr. 
Upham. 

Mr. Upham married Priscilla, daughter of Rev. Benjamin 
Allen, of Falmouth (Portland), who was born on the Vine- 
yard and settled at Cape Elizabeth 1734. His ministry in 



REV. CALEB UPHAM. 243 

Truro covered the entire period of the Revolutionary War, 
which tried the souls of the Cape people, perhaps, more than 
those of any other place in the county. Mr. Upham was a 
stanch and uncompromising patriot. He entered bravely 
upon the work of sustaining the Colonies, greatly encouraged 
his people in public and in private, sympathized with them 
in their great losses, sufferings, and struggles, and, as we 
have seen by the records, was associated with the citizens in 
the most important committees. In 1775, he generously 
relinquished fifty pounds of his salary for the poor. Dr. 
Freeman pays the following tribute to his memory : 

Mr. Upham was a good scholar, an animated preacher, a warm friend to his 
country, and an honest man. He left behind him a poem in manuscript, the sub- 
ject of which was taken from the book of Job. He was ever attentive to the 
real good of his people, and exerted himself with zeal and fidelity in their 



There were added to the Church during his ministry two 
hundred and eighty-six. I have no account of his family, 
except his son Benjamin Allen, born in 1756, at Truro. For 
many years he was a prominent citizen, selectman, etc. His 
name has been, and I trust will continue to be, borne by every 
generation in Truro. Captain Caleb Upham Grozier, a well- 
known, enterprising shipmaster of Provincetown, died in 
Calcutta, where a substantial monument commemorates his 
name. Caleb Upham Grozier, a retired master mariner, is 
now living in North Truro. There may be others bearing 
the name. From headstones, near those of Mr. Avery, we 
copy : — 



Sacred to the memory of the 

Rev'd Caleb Upham, 

of Truro, who expired 

April 9th, 1786, in the 

63d year of his age, and 

31st of his ministry, 

This stone is erected 

by lis mourning son. 

" I have been, and that is all.' 



244 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

In memory of 

Mrs. Priscilla Upham, 

the amiable and pious consort 

of the Rev. Caleb Upham of Truro 

who expired in a fit 

of apoplexy suddenly 

Tan'y 6th, 1783, 

in the 58 year of her age. 

Be ye also ready. 

This stone is erected by her 

mourning husband. 

Under the Gross family may be found the early history of 
Samuel Hincks, the Truro schoolmaster, who was born in 
Portsmouth 171 8, graduated at Harvard College about 1740, 
married, in Truro, in 1754, Susannah Dyer, moved to Bucks- 
port, Me., 1795, where he died, in 1804. The records notice 
his engagement as schoolmaster in 1767, but as he was mar- 
ried in 1754, it is reasonable he succeeded Mr. Turner in 
about 1753, and that he taught occasionally thereafter, while 
a resident. 

Through schoolmaster Hincks and Susannah Dyer came 
the respectable family in Provincetown and Maine, of which 
the gallant General E. W. Hincks is a lineal descendant. 
The name was also used considerably as a Christian name. 
The names of many of the early ministers and other promi- 
nent or popular men have been woven into the Cape families. 
This was a good old English custom of perpetuating names 
by adopting them. The quite popular name of " Osborn, " 
which has done good service for many generations, came 
from the Rev. Samuel Osborn, born in Dublin and educated 
at the university of that city. He was settled in the minis- 
try in Eastham after the death of Mr. Treat. He was a man 
of practical understanding, who used his learning for the 
spiritual and temporal welfare of his people. 

He first taught them the use and art of preparing peat for 
fuel, and many improvements in agriculture. He was a valu- 
able man in the community, but leaning Armenianward Tho- 
reau says, "Ten ministers with their churches sat on him 
and spoiled his usefulness." The doings of that council and 



REV. CALEB UPHAM. 



2 45 



the seven abstract doctrinal points are worth reading. They 
declared him heretical for his affirmation, substantially on 
the following points : First. Christ's sufferings cloth nothing 
abate or diminish our obligations to obey the law of God, and 
that Christ's sufferings were for himself. Second. That 
there are no promises in the Bible but what are conditional. 
Third. That obedience is a considerable cause for a per- 
son's justification. Mr. Osborn was dismissed and moved to 
Boston, where he taught school with much success for many 
years, dying when nearly one hundred years of age. In 1757, 
Mr. Wormley was engaged as schoolmaster. 




CHAPTER XIV. 
1750— GENERAL OUTLINES — 1800. 

Fish Laws. The French War. Grammar School. Three R's. Cole's Rate. The 
Fishing and General Court. God's Providence vs. Man's Folly. Revenue. Free 
Seining restricted. First Free School. Cape Cod Fictions. New England and Vir- 
ginia. Town Meeting 1761. John Bacon's Will. First Protest against Slavery. 
Pomp's Lot. Capt. Matthias Rich. Forbidding the Banns. The dark Day. Light- 
houses. Sailing and Sailors. Forbisher's great Fleet. Northwest Passage. Death 
Rate. Training Field. Long Noonings. Old Hutta Dyer. Bassing. Yarns. 
Direct Tax of 1798. Rev. James Freeman, D. D. Description of Truro. Washing 
away. Mild Mythology. Margate and Ramsgate. Dr. Jason Ayers. Harbor at 
the Pond. 

IT was voted in 1754 that, for the time to come, if any per- 
son shall take a boy under ten years old to drive black fish 
or porpoises, he or they shall have nothing allowed for the 
boy ; and that whenever black fish or porpoises shall be driven 
ashore and killed by any number of boats of the inhabitants 
of this town, if one man or more shall insist on having the 
fish divided to each boat, it shall be done. 

" Mr. Jonathan Paine had leave to build a wharf below the 
bank at Indian Neck, somewhere against the land of Esq. 
Paine." 

At an aniversary meeting of the inhabitants of Truro, March 12, 1759, Moses 
Paine was chosen Treasurer, and it was voted to give him one penny per pound 
for receiving and paying out the town's money; also voted to give the select- 
men twenty shillings each for their services the year past. 

" The case of a poor widow being under ' melancholy cir- 
cumstances ' was considered, and it was proposed that those 
who were able would keep her one week each." 

246 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 247 

The demand in men and means to support the war was 
now very oppressive, and business depressed. Though the 
people were interested in the best welfare of the youth, it was 
difficult to supply the school with a suitable teacher. Such 
educated men as they desired were secured by those better 
able to pay them. 

In 1760 it was thought expedient to petition the General 
Court "to be excused from providing a grammar school, and 
to be permitted to substitute a good English school for reading, 
writing, spelling and ciphering." This departure from the 
high standard established by the Fathers, though well 
intended, was a bad step. Having once opened the breach, 
Reading, 'Ritiug and ' ' Ritkmetic soon became the standard of 
education. As the fountain does not rise above its head, 
the schoolmaster did not always rise above the occasion. 
Having established the dangerous precedent of a school 
without a learned schoolmaster, further concessions could be 
made, leading to great wrong. No community can afford, 
however poor, to neglect the morals or education of youth. 
In a few years this error was corrected, and the town made 
choice of Barnabas Paine, John Rich and Richard Collins as 
committee to take special care in hiring a grammar school- 
master to settle in said town as soon as possible. 

The same year, 1 760, on account of the great losses sustained 
by the town in consequence of the blowing of the sand upon 
the cultivated lands and meadows the winter past, an abate- 
ment of the provincial tax of the town was asked. Messrs. 
Barnabas Paine, Joshua Atkins and Ebenezer Dyer were 
appointed agents to petition the Great and General Court., 

At a meeting of the town of Truro held June 21, 1762, John Rich, Moderator, 
Captain Joshua Atkins declared to the town that if the selectmen would not 
approbate Elisha Dyer to retail or sell strong drink, nor no other person in his 
neighborhood, that he would pay said Cole's rate himself. 

Ye major part of ye Selectmen being present, they declared to the town that 
they had concluded to grant Captain Atkins' request respecting ye affair, when- 
ever Captain Atkins told Constable Rich that he would pay for said Cole's 
rate. 

MOSES PAINE. Town Clerk. 



248 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

March 17, 1766. Gave leave to John Lombard Jr., to set up gates or bars 
across the way from the Wading Place leading towards John Rich Jr's. 

At the same meeting, said proprietors made choice of Mr. Paul Knowles, 
Lieutenant Dyer and Barnabas Paine Esq., a committee to settle bounds between 
the owners of the lot of land round about the common land at the meeting-house 
and run the line between the common land there and the lots, and to set off a 
sufficient ground on the westerly part of said common land for a burying-place 
privilege for the meeting-house and training field. 

Cape Cod, on account of its fine harbor and extraordinary 
fishing advantages, had from the first received liberal atten- 
tion. As early as 167 1, Prince and Bosworth petitioned the 
" Right Honored Massachusetts and Deputies of the General 
Court of New Plymouth, now sitting," relating to the mack- 
erel fishery. In 1680 Cornet Robert Stetson, of Scituate, and 
Nathaniel Thomas of Marshfield, hired the Cape fishing for 
bass and mackerel. In 1684 the Cape Cod fishing was leased 
to Mr. William Clark, for seven years, at ^30 per annum. 
In 1670 the General Court passed the following preamble: 
" Whereas the Providence of God hath made Cape Cod com- 
modious to us for fishing with seines, etc." Therefore a duty 
of. twelve shillings per barrel was imposed upon mackerel 
and bass, to counteract the providence of God. This, though 
intended as wise legislation, was foolish and suicidal. A 
bounty to develop the feeble industry would have been far more 
consistent than a tax of two and a half dollars per barrel to 
throttle honest enterprise. Such a tax would ruin or so cir- 
cumscribe any fishery as to render it of little value. It was 
like the laws of Spain and Mexico that starve the people and 
impoverish the country. Home taxation, as a rule, is the 
old man upon the shoulders of Sinbad. It is the Hebrew 
proverb of a foolish but ambitious camel that in pursuit of 
horns lost his ears. 

We have suffered, though perhaps less than other nations, 
much from ingenious modes of complicating and manipulating 
our natural resources. 

In this country, tariff and free trade, those fertile sources 
of discussion, that no laws can ever fully cover, are being 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 249 

better understood. That protection belongs to statesmanship, 
and free trade to text-books and speech-making seems safe 
doctrine in this country. In Europe, particularly England, 
where men are born and bred statesmen, and home interests 
more concurrent than in our diversified industries, we should 
expect wiser laws. But Buckle says, " It is no exaggeration 
to say that the history of the commercial legislation of 
Europe presents every possible contrivance for hampering 
the energies of commerce." Although greatly opposing 
sectional interests have to be met, and untried statesmen 
are being surged up to grave responsibilities, our self- 
protection is being closely scrutinized, and is commending 
itself. 

In 1689, the laws touching the seining of mackerel were 
repealed, and it was ordered, "That the magistrate of 
Barnstable County dispose of and manage the Cape Cod 
fishing ; provided, however, that all former fishing orders 
shall be in force." 

Though the Fathers erred in some points, they were wiser 
in others than their children of this day, as at the same time 
(1670), penalties were imposed for taking fish at certain times 
previous to spawning. That such an enactment was wise 
and practical, all who understand the question must admit. 
That the free and unrestricted seining of fish, particularly of 
mackerel, is a national wrong and ruinous to a national indus- 
try, none will pretend to deny from honest convictions, or a 
knowledge of the facts. 

It is also highly creditable to the Fathers that out of this 
revenue, the tax of fishing, thirty-three pounds were contrib- 
uted to defray the charges of the free school. A better 
lestitution for ill-advised legislation was never made. Up to 
this time (1670), just fifty years -after the landing of the Pil- 
grims, there had been no public schools. The property of the 
fishing of Cape Cod was granted to found a free school in 
1671. John Morton was the first schoolmaster, and Thomas 
Hinckley steward of the fund. 

Again the Cape creeps into notice as introducing another 
fiction. First, as a shelter to the Mayflower ; second, in the 



250 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

execution of the first written contract of self-government ; 
third, for corn to the Pilgrims ; and fourth, for funds from the 
fishing wherewith to establish the first free public school in 
the world. A little later will be found the first protest 
against slavery. Natural advantages of soil and climate are 
of no avail when set against general education and high 
morals. More than two hundred years ago a writer entitled 
to consideration, discriminated as follows : — 

New England is in a good condition for hardihood, but for matter of any great 
hopes but fishing, there is not much in that land ; there is much cold, frost and 
snow, and the land so barren except a herring be put into the hole that you set 
the corn or maize in, it will not come up ; and it was a great pity all those peeple, 
being now about twenty thousand, did not seat themselves at first at the south of 
Virginia, in a warm and rich country where their industry would have produced 
sugar, indigo, ginger, cotton and the like commodities. 

At the end of this two-hundred-year race, New England, 
with her cold and frost and snow, her granite, and ice, and 
hay, and codfish, and herring, and education, has achieved 
the highest condition of general intelligence, well-developed 
industries, and average wealth on the face of the earth. While 
Virginia has but a low average of these high achievements, 
her soil is worn out, many of her towns and cities are hasten 
ing to decay, and the State stands upon the verge of bank 
ruptcy. 

I will have never a noble, 

No lineage counted great; 
Fishers, and choppers, and ploughmen 

Shall constitute a State. 

In 1729, John Bacon, lawyer of Barnstable, died. By 3 
provision in his will, his " negro slave Dinah is ordered to be 
sold, and the proceeds improved by my executors in buying" 
Bibles, and they shall give them equally and alike to each o* 
my said wives and my grandchildren." 

THE FIRST PROTEST AGAINST SLAVERY. 

May 18, 1773. — It was voted by the town of Sandwich, that our representation 
is instructed to endeavor to have an act passed by the Court to prevent th*- 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 251 

importation of slaves into this country, and that all children that shall be born 
of such Africans as are now slaves among us, shall after such act be free ai 
twenty-one years of age. 

Five years after this vote, March 25, 1778, " selling slaves 
in the American market was prohibited in Boston." 

1 

POMP'S LOT. 

Northeasterly from the house of Leonard P. Rich is a wood- 
lot that keeps alive the memory of " Pomp," who was an 
African of the pure Congo species, purchased or stolen 
according to the gospel of the times, by the captain of a 
whaleman from Truro, and on arrival sold to Jonathan Paine. 
Pomp performed his duties as a slave faithfully, but he was 
never fairly happy or content. He indulged in the homesick 
passion which the negro feels, and with his countrymen, 
.believed in metempsychosis, or transmigration of soul. 

One day when the longing for kith and kin and home was 
deep in his heart, he took a jug of water, a loaf of bread and 
a rope, and went into a thick wood-lot belonging to his master. 
Selecting a high tree, the stump of which may yet be seen, 
he placed his jug of water and loaf of bread at the foot of the 
tree, to sustain him over the journey, and placing the rope 
around his neck, took his departure for Afric's sunny foun- 
tains. Many days after, his body was found hanging to the 
tree; his soul had gone to the God who gave it, in whose 
merciful hands we leave him. 

It may seem unaccountable and unreconcilable in our day, 
that the settlers of New England, with their positive con 
science, and honest convictions, should have planted such 
dragon's teeth as slavery. We must, however, remember the 
moral condition of the world, the wrongs and cruelties of soci- 
ety, and how much had been done, rather than how much 
remained undone. Not thirty years are yet passed since 
slavery was defended by the press, the pulpit, the platform. 
and the sword of this Christian nation. The villainous traffic 
in African slaves was prosecuted with great energy and profit, 



.> 5 2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

and regarded a fair field for enterprise, for more than a hun- 
dred years after the settlement of Plymouth. 

Captain Matthias Rich, a native of Truro, well-known in 
his day and generation as " Beau Flash," was a dashing fellow, 
a man of great energy and enterprise, and a successful trader 
in " Guinea blackbirds." When a poor boy, working hard at 
home in sight of the ocean, as the ships sailed by he used 
to lighten his toil and amuse his sisters by telling them how 
he would own and sail ships when a man. 

He lived many years in Pleasant Street, Boston ; the house 
is still standing. When public sentiment became too strong 
to face, he moved to Baltimore, and became a successful mer- 
chant. He died in about 1810, leaving a family and large 
property. His son Charles owned large plantations in Miss- 
issippi, where he died in about 1830. It was reported that a 
grandson of the old captain was an officer in the late war and 
a prisoner at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. 

March 13, 1775. — The town voted to pay over the Provincial tax to Henry 
Gardner Esq. of Stowe. Gamaliel Smith and Job Avery entered dissent. 

March 16, 1770. — Hincks Gross forbid the banns of matrimony between 

of Chatham, and of the District of Wellfleet, and says the reason 

therefor that said (the man) is non compus. 

Wellfleet, April 9, 1770. — Zoheth Smith, Naaman Holbrook, and Jonathan 
Young, Selectmen, have this day entered with their protestation of the banns of 

matrimony between of this District, and of Truro, for the 

following reason : The said , being an idle vagrant, and has received 

assistance from said District, and has no business to guarantee matrimony him- 
self, and should he marry, his family would be an additional expense to this 

District. 

JOHN GREENOUGH. District Clerk. 

The Dark Day of May 19, 1780, was a strange phenomena 
that caused much excitement and was referred to as long as 
any who witnessed it lived to tell the story. Happening at a 
time when considerable license was given to supernatural 
agencies, it is not surprising that it was regarded as porten- 
tous of dire calamities. Dr. Samuel Tenney, referring to 
its cause, remarks : 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 253 

That it was supernatural was never supposed but by the ignorant and super- 
stitious. It must then admit of a rational and philosophical explanation. The 
darkness was the most gross in Essex County and vicinity. The earth and 
trees were clad in a hue extraordinarily enchanting, even amid the general 
gloom. The following evening was no doubt the darkest ever known. A sheet 
of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was invisible. The darkness 
has been accounted for by "air currents condensing the vapors," etc. 

Little was done to establish lighthouses on our coast till 
the beginning of the present century. In 1794, there was 
not a lighthouse on Cape Cod. About this time Rev. Levi 
Whitman of Wellfleet, whom the Massachusetts Historical 
Society say "was distinguished through the country for his 
activity and benevolence," in a letter to Rev. James Freeman 
of Boston, said : 

That mountain of clay in Truro seems to have been erected in the midst of 
sand hills by the God of Nature for the foundation of a lighthouse which, if it 
could be obtained, in time no doubt would save the lives of thousands, and mil- 
lions of property. Why, then, should not that dark chasm between Cape Ann and 
Nantucket be illuminated? From the Clay Pounds in Truro in pleasant days in 
February and March, we often discover fifty or sixty sail of vessels which come 
from the West Indies and the southard, and have been sheltered in the Vineyard 
Sound. 

The Highland lighthouse was built in 1798, rebuilt 1853 ; 
Race Point, 1816; Billingsgate, 1822; Long Point, 1826; 
Three Lights at Nauset, 1838; Pamet Harbor, 1849, discon- 
tinued 1855. Wellfleet, 18—; Wood End, 1873. 

The safety with which the clumsy old arks used to make 
passages across the ocean in the early clays, is quite sur- 
prising. When we remember their unshapely hulls, rough 
rig, and general inconveniences, and consider the rude instru- 
ments of navigation, and that they were mostly without 
charts or books, or knowledge of coasts, entirely destitute 
of lighthouses, the fact is truly marvellous. They were 
watchful men ; of eagle-eye and keen observation, with hearts 
of English oak — altogether worthy of the claim that they 
belonged to an age of great navigators. 

Up to 1637, two hundred and ninety-eight ships had sailed 
for New England, only one of which did not land in safety. 



254 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Insurance offices should have paid fat dividends in those 
days. The tonnage of these ships, so well known in history, 
is another surprise. The Golden Hind, in which Sir Francis 
Drake circumnavigated the world, was one hundred and two 
tons burden. The Mayflower was one hundred and eighty 
tons, being one of the large packet ships, and for many 
years after 1620, was employed bringing passengers from 
different ports in England. 

Forbisher's Great Fleet, of which we have heard much, in 
which he sailed to discover the " Northwest Passage " in 
1576, consisted of two barks of twenty-five tons, and a 
pinnace of fifteen tons. It was on this voyage that the 
ancient mariner discovered the hole from whence blew the 
northwest wind, and said " if he had had another hat, would 
have stopped it up." Sir Humphrey Gilbert's "frigate," 
ships and barks were all small craft. 

They were mostly God-fearing men in those days, and 
had a full recognition of their responsibility to God and man. 
The phraseology of the times may have had a certain influence. 
Certainly the influence shaped the phraseology. 

Witness the following bill of lading at a much later date : 

Mount Vernon, Nov. 16, 1763. 
Shipp'd by the grace of God, in good order and well-conditioned, by George 
Washington, in and upon the good ship calPd the Virginia, whereof is master 
under God for this present voyage, Henry McCabe, and now riding at anchor in 
the river Potomac, and by God's grace bound for Liverpool, four hhds. of 
tobacco. And so God send the good ship to her desired port in safety. Amen. 

In the seven years preceding 1794, there were seven deaths 
in Truro between the ages of ninety and one hundred. Aver- 
age deaths, sixteen per year, including those lost at sea, in a 
population of twelve hundred. 

March 6, 1788. — At a meeting, voted to allow Job Avery seven pounds, 
twelve shillings and sixpence old tenor for his time and horse last summer 
going for soldiers. 

At the same meeting, the proprietors voted that Silvanus Snow Esq., Deacon 
Jonathan Snow and John Rich 3d. should be a committee to set off as much of 
the common land about the meeting-house for the use and benefit of the town 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 255 

of Truro as will make a convenience for sheds and shelter for people and horses 
and a convenience for meeting-house burying-grounds and training-field. At 
same meeting voted to sell all the residue of the said proprietor's property at 
vendue to the highest bidder. 

Attest. SILVANUS SNOW. 

The Training-field, laid out south of the meeting-house, 
and that annually used to be the resort of every man and 
ooy, is still owned by the town. It commands a delight- 
ful situation, is smooth as a threshing floor, though never 
broken by the plough. In early times large oak-trees stood 
around the church and on this field. Under these trees 

seats were built for the accommodation of the people during 
the long noons of summer. None thought of going home 
till both meetings were over. On these favorite seats under 
the shadow of the trees, gathered the old and the young. 

The old men of the last generation loved to tell about 
the long noonings between meetings when they were boys. 
There were always men who had the gift of story-telling. 
Perhaps some of their relations would be termed in these 
modern days "fish stories." Old Hutta Dyer had the repu- 
tation of being the Prince of Yarners. Whenever he seated 
himself to smoke his pipe, whether under the trees or the 
sheds, there the boys gathered also. It is doubtful if the 
Grecian youth listened more attentively to the wisdom of 
Socrates and Laches, or the sublime contemplations of Plato, 
than the young men and boys attending these weekly orations. 
It is a tradition of old Hutta, that while fishing for bass from 
the shore at the back side, having hard luck, he half-hitched 
his line around his great toe, and lay down on the soft sand. 
With the gentle lullaby of the rippling waves in his ears he 
fell asleep, but was very suddenly awakened by being dragged 
feet-first into the surf. An immense strain on the line 
half-hitched around his great toe, kept his long leg as stiff as 
a handspike, whatever became of the rest of his body. 
It seemed a mile to that fatal line, and a physical impossibility 
to find the end of his leg. But it was not a time of much 
deliberation ; with almost superhuman effort, he recovered 
the line, and landed upon the sand an immense squid-hound 



256 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



bass of sixty pounds. This species are now often caught 
from the shore ; they are alive, and require practice to land 
them. Instances are known of this fish weighing" nearly one 
hundred pounds. 

Thoreau says : " When I asked a minister of Truro what 
the fishermen did in winter, he answered, ' Nothing, but go 
a-visiting, sit about, and tell stories, though they worked 
hard in the summer, and it is not a long vacation they get.' ' 
The Plato of Walden Pond adds, " I am sorry that I have not 

been there in the 
winter to hear 
their yarns." The 
minister's answer 
has too much 
truth in it to be 
false ; but like 
many truthful 
statements, mis- 
leads. 

In the winter 
time the boys and 
young men attend 
school. Some of 
the men are en- 
gaged in coast- 
ing, o r foreign 
voyages. Some 
seasons in good 
weather consider- 
able attention is 
paid to boat-fish- 
ing, while the elderly men can find plenty of work about their 
homes, preparing their summer wood, etc. 

That plenty of time is left for sitting about, visiting, and 

spinning yarns, is true. Various attempts have been made 

to furnish employment in the winter season to the fishermen, 

but as yet, for various reasons, it has not proved successful. 

Excitement and variety are associated with sea-going 




H 1 SIX iRK LET THE GOOD SHIP FLY. 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 257 

young men who will not endure continued disciplined labor 
from day to day on the land. Three months' schooling 
used to be too long for some of these restless spirits that 
could content themselves on shipboard for months. The 
heart of the old stormy viking of the Norseman, or the fair- 
haired, iron-faced Dane that buffeted the North Sea rigors in 
his shallop for love of adventure, still lingers. — 



And so off shore let the good ship fly; 

Little care I how the gusts may blow, 
In my fo'castle bunk in a jacket dry — 

Eight bells have struck, and my watch is below. 



THE DIRECT TAX OF 1798. 

In the days of the Roman Empire there went out a decree 
from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 
This was to pay for the wars and other amusements of these 
virtuous Romans. 

In the year 1798, a. d., there went out a decree from our 
government that to cover war contingencies, all dwelling- 
houses with lots not exceeding two acres, should be taxed. 
This was known as "The Direct Tax for 1798." 

That for Truro was rendered on the first day of October, 
1798. It covers a dozen folio pages. I should judge 
the valuation was not over one third of the real value. 



The number of dwellings in Truro taxed was 172. Valuation, $22,867. The 
lowest valuation, of which there were a number, was $105; the highest, $275. 
These were Anthony Snow, Benjamin Collins, Barnabas Paine, Caleb Knowles, 
George Pike, John Collins, Isaac Small, Silvanus Snow, John Rich, Richard 
Rich, Joshua Rich, and Frances Small. Those over $200 were Ephraim Rich, 
Isaiah Snow, Isaac Atwood, Benjamin Hinckley, Hannah Collins, Jesse Rich, 
Jonah Atkins, Lois Cobb, Nathaniel Rich, Priscilla Rich, Sarah Atkins, Sam- 
uel Atkins and John Young. Of the 172, only two that did not own their 
houses. The names most numerous were Rich, 26; Lombard, 15; Snow, 15; 
Paine, 10; Dyer, 10 

The number in Provincetown was 102. Valuation, $15,375. Those valued at 
over % 200 were Joseph Nickerson, $230 ; Ebenezer Nickerson, $205 ; Seth Nick, 
erson, $230; Steven Nickerson, $205 ; Thomas Small, $205 ; Samuel Rider, $205. 



2 58 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

In Wellfleet there were 182 houses, valued $23,795. The highest were Thomas 
Holbrook, $702 ; Hezekiah Doane, $470; Nathaniel Mayo, $375 ; Philip Covell, 
$360. 

These tables give the relative value of these three towns 
about eighty years ago. 

REV. JAMES FREEMAN. 

Rev. James Freeman, D. D., was the first, or among the first 
Unitarian ministers in America, and for years the pastor 
of King's Chapel, Boston. He was the son of Constant and 
Lois (Cobb) Freeman, born in Truro April 22, 1759, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1775. His ancestors were 
such Pilgrim stock as Constant Southworth, and of such 
orthodoxy as Deacon Samuel Freeman and Rev. Samuel 
Treat, the Eastham minister. 

A marble bust and mural tablet stand to his memory in 
King's Chapel. The tablet bears the following inscription : 

Rev. James Freeman, D. D., 

Pastor of this Church, chosen April 21, 1783, 

ordained Nov. 18, 1787. Died Nov. 14, 1S35, aged 76 years. 

Dr. Freeman was the first Unitarian preacher in this city ; and he 

adorned the doctrine he professed by his Christian simplicity, 

purity and faithfulness, by the benevolence of his heart and the integrity of 

his manners. Respect for his -talents, and for the courageous honesty 

and firmness with which he maintained his opinions, was mingled 

with love for his mildness and affectionate sympathy. 

In theological attainments there were few, and in the qualities which 

endear a minister to his people, there were none to surpass him. 

INSCRIPTION OF THE BUST 

This bust was placed here December 16, 1843, 
by a grateful congregation. 

Dr. Walker said, " He was the wisest man he ever knew ; 
his wisdom was born of the marriage of good sense and 
unselfishness." 

Bradford says, " Dr. Freeman was a good classical and 
general scholar, well acquainted with history, and with the 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 259 

works of the most elegant and accomplished writers of the 
English language." 

A volume of his sermons, passed through a second edition, 
was well received. He was a fearless and independent 
inquirer, but not rash nor fond of innovating unless truth 
required it. 

Rev. Mr. Greenwood, of King's Chapel, paid the following 
tribute to his character : 

Honesty and truth, pure and transparent, associated with gentleness and 
urbanity, unaffected modesty, and real kindness and good will, were qualifica- 
tions so distinctly marked in every word, and action, and look, that no one 
could know him without reading them there. His candor was proverbial ; 
never rude, harsh or uncharitable, he was always generous, affectionate and 
kind. 

Doctor Freeman was the Recording Secretary of the Mas 
sachusetts Historical Society. In 1794 he wrote a description 
of Truro, which may be found in Vol. III., First Series. As 
the date of that sketch was just about half-way from the set- 
tlement of Truro to the present, and contains a geographical 
description of the town, I will make a few extracts from the 
same. 

Truro is situated east-southeast from Boston 41° 57', and 42° 4', north lati- 
tude, and between 70° 4', and 70° 13', west longitude from the Royal Observa- 
tory at Greenwich. The length of this township as the road runs is about 
fourteen miles, but in a straight line about eleven miles. The breadth in the 
widest part is three miles, and in the narrowest part not more than half a mile. 
The distance or the meeting-house (Old North) from Boston is fifty-seven miles 
in a straight line, but as the road runs it is one hundred and twelve miles, forty 
miles from the C. H. in Barnstable. East Harbor contains fourteen houses, 
the Pond Village forty, Clay Pounds six, the whole town one hundred and 
seven, only one house in town over one story high. The population by the 
census of 1790 was 1193. In 1794, the polls were 330, estimated population, 
1320. 

At this time, Boston and the twenty-three contiguous towns 
then embracing the County of Suffolk, contained less than 
forty-five thousand inhabitants, averaging less than two 
thousand each, and Truro had about twelve hundred, or 
nearly seventy to a square mile. We are not surprised that 



260 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Doctor Freeman speaks of the town as being full of people. 
To-day the twenty-three towns contain a population of a 
million, and Truro less than in 1794. In i860 the popula- 
tion was about 2000 : 360 houses, 440 families. Doctor Free- 
man is in error in his statement that there were only 107 
houses, as we have just shown by the Direct Tax of 1798 
that there were 172 houses subject to the tax, which must 
be correct. The two-story house referred to, was the great 
gambrel roof of Captain Joshua (Governor) Atkins, that less 
than fifty years ago stood up the Hollow just eastward of 
Mrs. Hughes. 

There was an attempt many years ago to make a harbor at the Pond Landing. 
It is conceived that a wharf of timber or stone placed on the outer bar, about 
four hundred rods in length, and six or seven feet in height, would offer a con- 
venient harbor. 

The inhabitants consider the Clay Pounds as an object worthy the attention 
of strangers. The eastern shore of Truro is very dangerous for seamen. More 
vessels are cast away here than in any other part of the County of Barnstable. 
A lighthouse near the Clay Pounds, should Congress think proper to erect one, 
would prevent many of these fatal accidents. There are proofs that the ocean 
has gained nearly half a mile upon the outer shore within the last sixty years. 
The soil in the township is depreciating, little pains being taken to manure it. 
Not much attention is paid to agriculture, as the young men are sent to sea very 
early in life. The hillocks of the Indian corn formed by the hoe, are left 
unbroken, and the land lies uncultivated six or seven years. Formerly fifty 
bushels of corn were raised on an acre, but the average produce at present is not 
more than fifteen or twenty. The soil was once good for wheat, the mean pro- 
duce of which was fifteen or twenty bushels an acre. 

A subsistence being easily obtained, the young people are induced to marry at 
an early age ; many of the men under twenty-three, and many of the women 
under twenty. A numerous family is generally found after a few years. 

Though Truro, in respect to soil, is inferior to the other townships in the 
County except Wellfleet and Provincetown, both of which have convenient har- 
bors, yet in spite of every disadvantage, it has become full of inhabitants. In 
the time of the contest between Great Britain and America, four masters of ves- 
sels with their men, the greater part of whom belonged to Truro, were lost at 
sea. 

Many died in the prison-ships at New York. But since that period, as migra- 
tions from the township have been rare though formerly frequent, the inhabi- 
tants have increased. The meeting-house is painted and in good repair. The 
inhabitants in general are very constant in their attendance on public worship. 
There is one water-mill and three wind-mills for the grinding of Indian corn and 
rye. The elderly men and small boys remain at home to cultivate the ground ; 
the rest are at sea, except occasionally, two thirds of the year. The women are 
generally employed in spinning, weaving and knitting. 



GENERAL OUTLINES. 261 

Doctor Freeman often visited Truro, took an interest in 
her prosperity, and understood the people. He was inter- 
ested in all the Cape towns and wrote a description of several, 
which may be found in the Historical Collection, signed J. F. 
The great gain of the ocean mentioned by Doctor Freeman 
was generally accepted, but actual tests prove to the contrary. 
Undoubtedly there have been years when the gain by the 
bank line would be fully the distance -stated ; nearly fifty feet ; 
but this is usually followed by many years of low average. 

A winter of severe easterly gales will wash down the bank 
to almost a perpendicular ; during that year the bank will 
crumble away to its natural angle of about forty-five degrees, 
which in some places will be three or four lengths of fence, or 
perhaps twenty or thirty feet. It may be five or ten years 
before another great inroad is made. 

I can demonstrate that for the last fifty years the average 
annual loss on the Truro .coast has not been over five or ten 
feet. But at this slow pace, in five hundred years there 
would be little left of Cape Cod, as a mile would have disap- 
peared. These remarks are confined to the northern part of 
the Cape, and do not conflict with what we have said in our 
Chapter on Geology, referring to the southern part, where the 
currents have a wild freedom. 

It was once not uncommon for the old men to tell their 
sons that they had hoed corn where ships then sailed. Soc- 
rates complained that their fathers had done all the brave 
deeds, and had not taught them the same, so that they had 
no great stories to tell their sons. The old Cape Cod fathers, 
bound to keep good the stories they received, repeated their 
fathers' as their own, introducing a kind of mild mythology. 

As the encroachment of the ocean on the back side of the 
Cape is of considerable scientific importance, my observations 
are partially confirmed by comparison with reliable statements 
from other exposed coasts and headlands. Margate and 
Ramsgate, exposed points on the Kentish coast, show what 
is termed "remarkable encroachments from the ocean since 
the reign of Henry VIII.," but when reduced show about the 
same average which I have noticed. 



26a 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



Referring to Doctor Freeman's statement of an attempt in 
the early history of Truro to make a harbor at the Pond 
Landing, we call attention to the second attempt. 

An act was passed in 1806, incorporating Jason Ayers (the Truro physician) 
and others as the " Truro Pond Harbor Association." for the purpose of opening 
a passage from the sea into a certain pond, or quagmire, lying on the west side 
of said town near the sea, and for clearing out said pond so as to form a conven- 
ient harbor. 

This work was accomplished at considerable expense ; a 
few small vessels entered, but the heavy westerly winds soon 
rilled the channel with sand, and it proved a total failure. 




CHAPTER XV. 
THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 



Exposed Condition. A Precarious Town. Dark Prospects. Beginning of the Fishing. 
Rivals for the Prize. Henry the IV. Sir Walter Raleigh. Stock Companies and 
the Nobility. Dutch Fishermen. Newfoundland. Catholic Europe. English 
Statutes. The Problem of Kings. Royal Kitchen and Royal Economy. Pine-Tree 
Shillings. Charles and Codfish. The People. 1485 — English Commerce — 1880. 
Education. Supply and Demand. From Newfoundland to New England. St. 
Saviour. Acadia. Fighting Men. Louis XIV. Louisburg. A Modern Crusade. 
Victory. One Vote. Fishermen Knighted. Peace. Codfish and Molasses. Free 
Rum. Merchant Voyages. The Cape Threatened. The Armada. Lawful Money. 
Crown Point. Petition for Protection. Watch and Ward. The Scheme. Priva- 
teering. Second Seige of Louisburg. Change of Rule. Dissatisfaction. An 
Impending Crisis. 



IN an early chapter we have referred to the fisheries as 
making the settlements of New England possible, and 
that they had a controlling hand in developing the Colonies. 
In this chapter we wish to show as pertaining to our history, 
their continued importance to civilization, and how they 
became at least an indirect agency in the long struggles 
that led to the independence of the country. For a hundred 
years the Cape towns from their exposed situation and busi- 
ness interests, shared largely in the wars and misfortunes of 
the colony. This applies particularly to Truro, and still 
more to Provincetown, which we have shown was a barom- 
eter of the times, with a precarious fortune, subject to the 
ebb and flow of the fishing. Up to this time, say about 
1750, though fishing was the main business in Truro, it 
had been carried on principally from the shore, and in 
connection with farming, as was and still is the English 

263 



264 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

custom. Thereafter, the prosperity of the town became more 
identified with the fisheries, which will become more a 
part of our history. Just at this time their fifty years of 
comparative prosperity became darkened by war and its 
environments, making a long, dark night. 

The fisheries of North America followed close in the wake 
of Columbus. Long before the Mayflower anchored in Cape 
Cod harbor, they had touched the enterprise of Europe, and 
commerce had spread rapidly in the maritime nations under 
its impulse. The English, Dutch, French and Portuguese, 
were rivals for the prize. Newfoundland was first the great 
point for all fishermen adventurers, and it is said was known 
to them before the voyage of Cabot, in 1497. 

As early as 15 17, fifty ships from the nations named, were 
employed. In 1536, a colony was attempted at Newfound- 
land, then known as Stoxa fixa In 1600 fully two hundred 
ships went annually there, employing ten thousand men, part 
of whom lived on shore curing the fish. 

In 1540 the French had established fisheries in Newfound- 
land. In 1577 they employed one hundred and fifty vessels, 
and pushed the business with great energy. A little later, 
under Henry IV., and Sully his famous minister, these fish- 
eries were placed under government protection. In 1609 
Scavelet, an old fisherman, had made forty voyages to 
Newfoundland. 

In 1593 Sir Walter Raleigh declared in the House of 
Commons that the Newfoundland fishery was the stay and 
support of the west counties of England, so rapidly had it 
increased. Large joint stock companies were formed, to 
which leading statesmen of the kingdom freely contributed. 
Lord Bacon, Lord Northampton, Keeper of the Seals, and 
Sir Francis Tanfield, Chief Bearer of the Exchequer, were 
active supporters. 

For many years the Dutch had followed the herring fisheries, 
and thereby enriched their nation. It used to be said that 
Amsterdam was built on herring bones, and that Dutchmen 
were made of pickled herring. Which last statement, I 
suppose, was not strictly true. 



THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 265 

In 1580 a joint stock company of .£80,000 was formed 
in England to carry out the herring fisheries in rivalry with 
the Dutch ; they thought it disgraceful that their Dutch 
neighbors should enrich themselves under English noses. 
In 1750 a company with a capital of ,£500,000 was formed 
in London, of which the Prince of Wales was president. 
His associates were among the first men in the kingdom ; 
but it failed for want of practical management. This failure 
was a great blow to the herring fisheries of England. The 
stockholders could put their hands in their empty pockets 
and sing : — 

He's dead ! he's dead as a herring I 
For I beheld his herring. 
And four officers transferring 
His corpse away from the field. 

The English were jealous of the growing wealth and 
influence of the Dutch, and pushed their own new-found 
enterprise with great energy. 

It was a crude age, and the fishermen, though brave, bold 
and indomitable, were rude, ignorant and cruel. In many 
instances little better than pirates. Some of them became 
notorious freebooters. They exercised great authority on 
the Island, which excited the jealousy of England, whose 
unwise legislation forced them to the most atrocious deeds. 
The history of Newfoundland fisheries, that without compari- 
son are the most cruel in the annals of crime, were mostly 
for want of a modicum of practical wisdom in the laws made 
to govern them. Sabine says: "For more than three hundred 
years the quarter-deck of a fisherman dictated laws and 
usurped authority in Newfoundland." 

It must be remembered in connection with the rapid 
growth of the American fisheries, that Europe was then 
Catholic, and that by the statute book, all British subjects 
abstained from flesh-food one hundred and fifty-three days in 
the year; and Parliament passed an act imposing a penalty of 
ten shillings for the first offence of eating flesh on fish-days; 
other enactments "For the benefit of the realm, as well 



266 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

as to the navie, in sparing and increase of flesh victual, " etc. 
We should also consider the condition of Europe. Property 
aggregated largely in the nobility. Capital was limited. 
Enterprise and inventions were circumscribed for want of an 
open door. Labor was in poor demand, with poorer pay. 
The masses were ignorant, priest-ridden and poverty-bound. 
To feed the people, to keep them from positive starvation, 
was the open problem of kings and statesmen. The varieties 
of food were limited, and cooking a lost art, or in its infancy. 
It may seem a surprising statement, that royalty was 
scarcely as well provided for in the comforts of living as the 
majority of our fishermen to-day. Contrast the fisherman's 
home with the conveniences and many of the elegancies of 
refined living; with the hovels without chimneys, or windows, 
or floors, in which the majority of the English lived. The 
palace floor of Queen Elizabeth was covered with straw. 

And now doth Geraldine press down 
The rushes of the chamber floor. 

An English journal of the sixteenth century says: In one 
of the noble and splendid establishments of the kingdom, 
the servants and retainers had fish three fourths of the year. 
" Nor does my lord and lady fare much better, since for break- 
fast they had a quart of beer, as much wine, two pieces of 
salt fish, six red herring, four white ones and a dish of 
sprats." Old songs are said to be truthful tell-tales: — 

In days when our King Robert reigned, 

His breeches cost but half a crown : 

He said they were a groat too dear, 
And called the tailor thief and lown. 

Red herring were a standard bill of fare. A red herring 
riding away on horseback, in the royal corn-salad, was an 
accomplishment for kings' households. At the marriage of 
Henry IV., in 1403, the banquet was six courses; three of 
flesh and fowl, and three of fish, among which was " salty 
fyshe." Nor should we be misled by the great retinue of 



THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 267 

servants and retainers, since they received little or no 
consideration except their daily scant food. 

When Massachusetts commenced, in 1652, to coin pine-tree 
shillings, Charles was much displeased. As a soothing mol- 
lient, the General Court ordered a present of ten barrels of 
cranberries, two hogsheads of samp, and three thousand 
pounds of codfish. Hume said that Charles used to swear 
by codfish. These were the times of which Emerson writes, 
" A layer of soldiers, over that a layer of lords, and a king on 
top, with clamps and hooks of castles, garrisons and police." 

It was under these depressing, almost hopeless prospects 
for the people, that the spirit of discovery animated Europe, 
and especially England. War had been the pastime of kings, 
and the outlet to the surplus population. Anything was bet- 
ter than war, particularly with a bare exchequer. Here was 
a field for new enterprise and industry. In 1485, during the 
reign of Henry VIII., there were only five ships belonging to 
London over one hundred and twenty tons, and the trade of 
England was largely in the hands of the German merchants. 
The prosecution of the fisheries was the beginning of Eng- 
land's glory upon the seas. In 1700 the entering and closing 
tonnage of England was eighty thousand. In 1880 fifty-nine 
millions. But the kingdom was struggling up to a higher 
destiny made possible by the employment of the people. 

Political abuses were yielding to better legislation. Diver- 
sified industries were producing diversified wants. Education 
in head, heart and hand, was laying hold of material good, and 
the concrete elements of society were building upon a better 
superstructure. It is interesting to watch the simple devel- 
opment of commerce. When our whalemen first visited the 
South Sea and Pacific Islands, the natives had nothing to sell 
and wanted nothing. But these coarrier-avants of civilization 
preceding the missionary, the great civilizer, by a shrewd use 
of a few trinkets, salt provision and old clothes, created a 
demand. At their next visit the fruit and vegetables they 
needed were waiting their return and competed for more trink. 
ets, salt provisions and old clothes, for which the barbarous 
natives have now found use. 



268 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Not only has commerce and civilization begun, but the 
principles of supply and demand, the first principles of politi- 
cal economy have been established on laws far more practical 
than those laid down by Smith and Mill. The virgin soil 
is now put under tribute, and idle hands are at work. Naked- 
ness must now be covered, the hut must be exchanged for a 
house, and a thousand before unknown wants become necessi- 
ties. Now the proud ship bears to them the products of our 
factories and shops, and from them, the products of sunny 
climes. 

From Newfoundland the fisheries extended to Nova Scotia 
and New England. To obtain better advantages for her 
fishermen, France colonized Canada, Nova Scotia and Cape 
Britain, and England established important points in New 
England. In 1620 England had four hundred ships on the 
American coast. 

In 1609 the French made their first settlement at St. 
Saviour, on the coast of Maine, at Mt. Desert, which was 
ignominiously and cowardly destroyed by Sir Samuel Argal 
of Pocohontas fame. Referring to this, Sabine says : " It 
is of interest to remark, that was the beginning of the con- 
tests, wars and bloodshed between the English and the 
French, which, with occasional intervals, continued for a cen- 
tury and a half, and which terminated only when the flag of 
England waved over every sea between Mexico and 
Labrador ! " There were a good many first crosses and con- 
siderable flag-waving among the early historians. A hundred 
years before Longfellow's Arcadia and Evangeline, a hundred 
battles had been written in the blood of England and France 
on these shores. When not at open warfare, they were fight- 
ing for pretended rights as they had at Newfoundland. The 
soldiers and sailors of that day considered it their business to 
fight, and fight they did, with or without a cause. 

The wars of England and France were transferred to 
America, and were continued under the Indian and French 
wars till the peace of Utrecht, 171 3. It has been computed 
that during those wars not less than eight thousand young 
men from the colonies of New England and New York fell 



THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 269 

by the sword or sickness. Nearly every family was in 
mourning. Not less than a fifth part of the people able to 
bear arms were in the field, and sometimes over half of the 
militia. 

In the meantime Louis XIV. had spent thirty millions 
*of francs and twenty-five years in building a great fortress 
mounting more than two hundred guns, on the desolate rock- 
bound Island of Cape Britain. Within were palaces and 
nunneries, besides all the appointments of a grand citadel. A 
thousand sail of French vessels, from two to five hundred 
tons, were annually employed on this coast. Where now an 
occasional fisherman casts anchor, hundreds of ships lay with 
valuable cargoes, and the busy dash of commerce and armed 
navies was on every breeze. Fleets and armies fought with 
desperate valor, surprising victories were gained, and victors 
were heralded and knighted. The madness or secret, if any 
there were for this outlay, was to control the fisheries of 
North America. The history of Louisburg, the Gibraltar of 
America, the Dunkirk of the west, is stranger than fiction, and 
fertile with attractions for pen or pencil. The possessions 
of France in America had ever been an itching palm to the 
English, in which the Colonists sympathized. 

The excitement of enlisting troops for the Louisburg expe- 
dition was wild almost beyond comparison. Religion was 
sufficiently infused to give enthusiasm. The sanctuaries 
were opened for recruiting, and the old fire of the crusad- 
ers burned on the home altars. Prayer to the God of battles 
went up continually from every christian heart for its success. 
The most remarkable feature of this daring enterprise was its 
success, the next was the accident of the bill. 

Governor Shirley submitted the plan to the General Court, 
endorsing the same. The court rejected the plan ; the Gov- 
ernor again renewed it. The merchants insisted, and the 
plan was finally adopted by the vote of the speaker. The 
casting vote of the speaker was made possible by the following 
incident. Mr. Oliver of Boston, who was opposed to the bill, 
while on his way to the Court of which he was a member, fell 
and broke his leg. On this turn the bill was passed. The 



270 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

expedition was carried out ; Louisburg passed into the hands 
of the English. The victory was the talk of the world ; a 
thanksgiving in New England and peace to Europe. 

The original design of this enterprise has always been 
credited, says Sabine, to the New England fishermen. Pep- 
perell who was knighted was the son of a Maine fisherman 
and had large interests in the business. By keeping the 
French flag flying after the surrender, he had more than 
fisherman's luck. Ships laden with cargoes valued at a 
million of dollars, were caught on that hook. Phipps was 
also knighted. ' 

Elizabeth Vickery, the daughter of Deacon Jonathan, when 
eighteen years of age, took passage on a fishing vessel from 
Truro to Boston. This was during the French war. The 
vessel was taken, and four Frenchmen were put on the prize. 
During the excitement Miss Vickery was left, and was found 
by the men who took charge. They started with their double 
prize, probably for Louisburg. A heavy gale overtook them, 
and they were shipwrecked on the Isle of Sable. 

It was now winter, and no communication could be had till 
the ice would allow a passage from the mainland in the spring. 
From the wreck the four men built a hut, where they passed 
the long winter. When the Island was visited late in the 
spring, they were all made prisoners by the English. At the 
earnest solicitation of the Frenchmen, Miss Vickery was 
liberated, carried to Halifax, and from there sent home. To 
the honor of these French sailors, be it remembered that 
during all these trying experiences, they never failed in their 
kindness or honorable protection to their helpless prisoner, 
and that she received only marked respect from their hands. 
She married Jonathan Collins, and became the mother of many 
generations. 

This peace to the Colonies was more in letter than spirit. 
They were still smarting under repeated acts of Parliament 
hostile to their interests, which were summed up under the 
comprehensive charge of "Restriction on our Fisheries." 
The duty imposed on rum and molasses "from any of the 
West India Islands than English," was an exasperating act 



THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 271 

and a staggering blow. Codfish and molasses was the Golden 
Fleece of New England. The colonists declared they could 
not prosecute the fisheries unless they could exchange cod- 
fish for molasses, to make rum for home consumption and 
trade with the Indians. The consumption of rum was enor- 
mous, and the traffic was nntrammeled by any nice question 
of morals. It was literally free rum. 

In 1700 Massachusetts exported one hundred thousand 
quintals of codfish, averaging four dollars per quintal, besides 
a contraband commerce of considerable magnitude, under 
the Navigation Act of England. Forty years later the export- 
ation of codfish had trebled. Marblehead alone had one 
hundred and sixty vessels. The whole number including 
ketches, snows and shallops employed in the business, was 
not less than eight hundred. In 1775 Mr. Higginson, a 
merchant of Salem, stated at the Bar of the House 
of Commons, .that seven hundred vessels were employed 
in the business, one half of which were carrying fish to 
foreign markets. In connection with these statements 
it should be remembered that the whole white population 
of Massachusetts was less than a million. These facts 
throw no little light upon the business resources of the 
colonies. 

They also explain how so many of our people were so early 
engaged in the European trade in connection with the fish- 
eries, which was a direct step to the more generally recog- 
nized merchant service. This change was more in name 
than fact. Carrying fish to foreign markets, in a fore- 
topsail, poop-deck schooner, was as much merchant service, 
or, as it used to be called, " merchant voyages," as carrying 
rum, cotton and tobacco in brigs and ships. The skippers, 
acting as their own agents, and doing their own business, 
qualified themselves as merchants, and led directly to rela- 
tions of larger magnitude. It also led to new social relations, 
which often resulted in making new homes. This process 
has never ceased in Truro. 

In retaliation for Louisburg to recover her loss and dis- 
tress, if not conquer New England, France fitted out the 



272 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

most formidable armament of modern times. This expedi- 
tion, under Duke d'Anville, consisted of eleven ships of line, 
thirty ships of war, transports with over three thousand 
troops, and forty thousand stands of arms for the Canadians 
and Indians. The fleet was destined for New England, and 
terrible reports floated on every breeze. The air was thick 
with coming distress. Truro and Provincetown were greatly 
exposed, and entirely unguarded. The people were anxious 
almost to despair. But Providence was better than their fears. 
It was the story over again of Philip and his armada, which 
the Pope had blessed and pronounced invincible, and on 
which Philip had staked the strength of his kingdom. It 
has been said with that armada sunk the wealth of the 
two Indias, and the flower of the Spanish chivalry. France 
staked her reputation on this cast, and with the loss sank her 
star of empire in the western world. 

Sterling money was scarce, old tenor being much reduced 
in value. In 1749 Parliament provided coin, which was 
shipped to Boston. It was in two hundred and fifteen chests, 
of three thousand dollars each, one hundred casks of copper, 
making twenty-seven truck-loads when it was carted to the 
Provincial treasury. After the thirty-first of March, 1750, by 
this provision, all debts were paid in coin. The term "law- 
ful money" was then originated. The town raised £,71- 
I7s-6d, lawful money, and placed in the hands of Captain 
Constant Freeman, to pay the men hired in the town to 
go to Crown Point. 

In 1756 the war broke out with renewed fury. Truro being 
more exposed and almost defenceless, suffered more than an 
average share of these troubles. She again petitioned the 
General Court for arms and military assistance, representing 
their exposed condition. It was ordered that Provincetown 
Harbor be fortified by a battery of six guns, viz. : two nines, 
two sixes, and two five pounds : all of which was never 
done. 

In 1757, March 22, Mr. Joshua Atkins was deputed to petition the Genera) 
Court that the town be protected, and excused from impressments. A committee 
was appointed to consult with the inhabitants of Provincetown respecting building 



THE FISHERIES AND THE WARS. 273 

a battery there, this town pledging assistance in the work; also to petition the 
General Court for aid in the same ; also to assist the military officers in drawing 
the claim list. 

The defences having become suspended, the town voted that the military 
watch and ward be carried on at Cape Cod, and that here a suitable number of 
guns and ammunition be brought to the meeting-house every Sabbath to be ready- 
in case of alarm. The scheme as generally adopted in the towns for enlisting 
men in the service was the resort here. 

The sum of fifteen pounds per month was voted to be paid 
to each of the town's quota, from the town treasury, in addi- 
tion to the Provincial wages. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Truro, October 24, 1757, said 
town chose for moderator Mr. Joshua Atkins. 

At the same meeting said town voted that Elkanah Paine, Ebenezer Dyer, 
John Rich, Isaiah Atkins and Ephraim Lombard be a committee to assist the 
military officers in drawing the claim list. 

At the same meeting said town voted that their town Treasurer should sue the 
constables for such sum or sums of money due to the town, unless they make up 
accounts with the said Treasurer and pay in what is due to the town by the space 
of one month from this meeting. 

Attest: MOSES PAINE. Town Clerk. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Truro, January 2d, 1758, 
Regularly warned and met at the house of Jonah Gross in said Truro, said town 
chose for moderator Barnabas Paine Esq., and after some discourse upon the 
soldiery, Samuel Dyer entered his dissent against ye present scheme. 

Attest: MOSES PAINE. Town Clerk. 

At a meeting, January 9th, 1758, at the house of Mr. Ephraim Lombard 
jr., said town agreed and voted to choose a committee to consider the business 
inserted in the warrant respecting the soldiers, and to bring in ye judgment, as 
to regulating the scheme as soon as they can. The town made choice of Messrs. 
Joshua Atkins, Ebenezer Dyer, Isaiah Atkins, Israel Gross, Job Avery and 
ensign Ambrose Dyer a committee for the business aforesaid. 

At same meeting said town required ye judgment of their committees aforesaid, 
whereupon said town agreed and voted that for this year, what men shall enlist 
to be impressed for the service of this province, to make up the town quota of 
men, shall be entitled to fifteen dollars to be paid to each of them out of the 
town Treasury. Ephraim Lombard entered his dissent. 

Attest. MOSES PAINE. Town Clerk. 

In 1759, April 2, to encourage men to enlist in His Majesty's service for the 
Canada invasion, money was again raised. Twenty men were required from this 
town, and to each of them fifteen pounds was voted, provided they enlist on or 
before the 6th day instant. 



274 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

By treaty of compromise, Louisburg had been conveyed to 
France, and the great preparations now were to carry on the 
war in Canada and for a second attack upon Louisburg. The 
demand for men to enter the English service and privateers 
against the French, thinned the already reduced ranks. So 
many of the New England sailors were on board the English 
war ships, that the merchant fleet had to be manned by 
negroes and Indians. In 1760, Truro, in common with 
other maritime towns, felt the burden of exactions and con- 
tinued privations to such an extent as to petition for an abate- 
ment of the Province tax. 

The second siege of Louisburg was fought with success to 
the English. "A great victory was the result that rejoiced 
the British Empire. The French colors were carried into St. 
Paul's, and a hymn of thanksgiving was ordered to be sung 
in all the churches of England. Prayers and thanksgivings 
were solemnly offered in public worship and at the domestic 
altar in New England." The battle of the Plains of Abra- 
ham, and the death of General Wolfe, which has been called 
one of the decisive battles of the world, soon followed. " The 
hour that the British troops entered Quebec, the rule of 
America passed from the Gallic to the Anglo-Saxon race." 
This ended the one hundred and fifty years mentioned by 
Sabine, beginning at St. Saviour in 1609, and ending with the 
fall of Louisburg and Quebec in 1759. 

It was now the turn of the Anglo-Americans to settle their 
own misunderstandings. Men of less sagacity than these 
enterprising Yankees could have readily seen that if cut 
clear of the " restrictions and embarrassments" of the Mother 
Country they could take care of themselves. Some were 
bold enough to declare they ought to be independent. In 
short, the crisis was impending. It soon came in the seven 
years' war of the Revolution. 

The subject which we have barely touched in this chapter 
is almost inexhaustible. To cull so lightly as we have felt 
obliged to do, and keep a connection with the chain of history 
from the discovery of the Cabots to the war of the Revolu- 
tion, has been a delicate task. 



CHAPTER XVI 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Emigration. Compensation. Peace. The Exhibit. Criticism and Agitation. Stamp 
Act Memorial. Port Bill. The English Merchants. Buckle on George 
III. East India Co.'s baneful Tea. Report of the Committee. Patriotic 
Letter to Boston. A good Test. Military School. April, 1775. Preparations. 
Provincetown a Rendezvous. Hummock Brigade. Independence. Voted to fall in. 
Xo wavering. Board of War Convention at Concord. Active Efforts. Hard Times 
and hard Dollars. The Somerset wrecked. General Otis. The fished Pipe. 
English Officers. Dr. William Thayer. Pressing Requisitions. The Continental 
Soldier. Condition of 17S2. Positive Suffering. Unflinching Devotion. Privateer- 
ing. Gobbling Prizes. Marblehead and Captain John Manly. Salem. Declaration. 
Battle of Yorktown. Dr. Sam Adams. Rev. Levi Whitman. A High Compliment. 
Number of Men. Brigs Resolution and Intrepid. David Snow and Son. 

DURING the long-continued wars referred to in our last 
chapter, the continued interruption and prostration of 
the fisheries had created an exhaustive emigration from Cape 
Cod and other fishing points to Maine and Nova Scotia. One 
hundred and sixty families from Cape Cod settled in one 
year in Barrington, Nova Scotia ; taking their families, fishing 
stock, and all on board their vessels, they founded that now 
flourishing seaport. 

All along the coast and rivers of Maine, may be found the 
familiar names of Truro settlers, many of whom engaged 
profitably in shipbuilding and commerce. 

By the inexorable law of compensation, these great losses 
to the Cape proved a blessing to the new places. From 
these emigrants came the hardy and prosperous sons of 
Maine that have built her great ocean marine and scattered 
her commerce to every open port of the world. A late 

2 75 



276 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

report from San Francisco gives more tonnage and captains 
in that port from Maine than all other American ports. 

With peace emigration ceased, the fisheries revived, com- 
merce was renewed, and the town began to recover from 
the blight of the French war. But confidence in the Mother 
Country as an auxiliary to prosperity was very much 
weakened. One hundred and fifty years had passed under 
her protection since the settlement of Plymouth. The little 
belt of towns along the coast, with a scant population, tax- 
bound and trammeled, was a poor exhibit, and poor promise 
for coming years. That the wars of England and her enact- 
ments hampered the prosperity of the country, began to be 
freely discussed. New measures began to be sharply criti- 
cised, and the voice of agitation was heard in the land. 

The infamous Stamp Act was passed by Parliament 1765. 
By this act a ream of blank insurance policies, worth nomi- 
nally twenty pounds, not costing half of twenty shillings, 
was increased to one hundred and ninety pounds. All 
unstamped paper was declared henceforth null and void. 
December 2, 1767, the town referred the Memorial of the 
Selectmen of Boston, respecting loaf sugar and other enu- 
merated articles mentioned in the Boston Resolves of October 
28, to a select committee consisting of Richard Collins, 
Joshua Freeman and Constant Hopkins. Voted " to leave 
the affair to the discretion of the town of Boston, to 
act as they shall think proper and beneficial to the 
province." 

The Boston Port Bill of 1774 interdicted all commercial 
interests with that port as a punishment for seizing and 
throwing overboard the three hundred and forty-two chests 
of tea. While these oppressive measures were being made, 
the English merchants were not blind to the results. They 
saw in these unjust levies a disturbance of the commercial 
relations with the colonies. They showed Parliament that in 
1764 New England employed forty-six thousand tons of ship- 
ping, and six thousand seamen ; that the amount of her sales 
in foreign markets were .£322,220 sterling, and that at the 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 277 

beginning of the war they were probably double that 
amount. 

Says Macchiavelli, " No foolish prince ever has wise coun- 
cillors." So George III. chose such councillors as would do 
his bidding and administer to his vanity. 

The new king having the most exalted notion of his authority, and being from 
his miserable education entirely ignorant of public affairs, thought that to tax the 
Americans for the benefit of the English would be a masterpiece of policy. The 
result, a war ill-conducted, unsuccessful, and accompanied by cruelties disgrace- 
ful to a civilized nation. To this may be added that an immense trade was 
nearly annihilated ; every branch of commerce was thrown into confusion ; we 
were disgraced in the eyes of Europe; we incurred an expense of one hundred 
and forty million pounds, and we lost by far the most valuable colony any nation 
ever possessed. — Buckle's Description of King George and his American War. 

The atrocious crime of using the smallest amount of tea, 
and the patriotic public sentiment may be inferred from the 
following record : 

At a town meeting, February 28, 1774, several persons appeared of whom it 
had been reported that they had purchased small quantities of the East India 
Co.'s baneful teas, lately cast ashore at Provincetown. On examining these 
persons it appeared that their buying this noxious tea was through ignorance 
and inadvertence, and that they were induced thereto by the villainous example 
and artful persuading of some noted pretended friends of government, from the 
neighboring towns. It was, therefore, resolved that the meeting thinks them 
excusable with their acknowledgment. 

At the same meeting the town appointed Captain Joshua Atkins, Isaiah Atkins, 
Deacon Joshua Freeman, Doctor Samuel Adams, and Messrs. Ephraim Harding, 
Thatcher Rich, Nathaniel Harding, Benjamin Atkins and Hezekiah Harding a 
committee to prepare a proper resolve to be entered into by this town respecting 
the introduction of Teas from Great Britain subject to a duty payable in 
America. 

The committee reported as follows : — 

We, the inhabitants of the town of Truro, although by our remote situation 
from the centre of public news, deprived of opportunities of gaining so thorough 
knowledge of the unhappy disputes, that exist between us and the parent State as 
we could wish ; yet, as our love of liberty, and dread of slavery is not inferior per- 
haps to that of our brethren in any part of the Province, think it our indispensable 
duty to contribute our mite, in the glorious cause of liberty and our Country, by 
declaring in this public manner, our union in sentiment with our much respected 



278 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

brethren of Boston, manifested in their patriotic resolve enclosed in the xate 
letter of their committee of correspondence to this town, and our readiness to 
afford in our contracted sphere our best assistance in any prudent measure in 
defence of, or for the recovery of, our rights and privileges, and to avoid being 
brought into that deplorable state of wretched slavery with which we are threat- 
ened by the unconstitutional measures, if persisted in by the administration, and 
in particular by their late dangerous and detestable scheme of sending Teas to 
the Colonies by means of the East India Co., subject to the unrighteous Ameri- 
can duty, — a scheme, as we apprehend, designed to take in the unwary and to 
continue and establish the tribute so unjustly forced from us, — a tribute attended 
with the aggravation of being applied to maintain in idleness and luxury a set of 
worthless policemen and pensioners and their creatures who are continually 
aiming at the subversion of our happy Constitution, and whose example tends to 
debauch the morals of the people in our seaports which swarm with them : And, 
as we think the most likely method that we can take to aid in frustrating the 
inhuman designs of the administration is a disuse of that baneful dutied article, 
Tea. Therefore 

Resolved, That we will not by any way or means knowingly promote or encourage 
the sale or consumption of any tea whatever while subject to an American duty ; 
and that all persons, whoever they may be, that shall be concerned in a transac- 
tion so dangerous to the well-being of this Country shall be treated by us as the 
meanest and basest of enemies to their country's defence : And, though we have 
the mortification to own that some persons among us have been weak enough to 
be led astray by noted rescinders from all good resolutions, we cannot, in justice 
to ourselves, omit making public the fact that no person in this town could be 
prevailed upon to accept the infamous employment of transporting the tea saved 
out of the Messrs. Clark's brigantine, from Cape Cod to the vessel ; but that the 
repeated solicitatations of the owners were refused notwithstanding liberal 
promises of a large reward, and notwithstanding we had here several vessels 
unemployed : and, it affords us great pleasure and satisfaction, that our highly 
esteemed brethren of the town of Boston have made so brave a stand in defence 
of American Liberty; and that wisdom, prudence and fortitude accompanied 
all their proceedings. We return them our sincere and hearty thanks for the 
intelligence they have from time to time afforded us, and hope they will continue 
their opposition to every measure tending to enslave us ; and wish their 
manly fortitude may be increasing under the great public grievances to which by 
their situation they are more peculiarly exposed. 

The preceding was signed by every member of the committee, and was adopted 
by the meeting ; mene com. ; and then ordered to be recorded and transmitted. 

The aforesaid committee were, by unanimous vote, constituted a Committee of 
Correspondence for this town. 

The fact that not a crew could be found under liberal offers 
to transport the cargo of baneful tea to Boston was a good 
test of loyalty and full proof of patriotism. A point well 
taken by the committee. 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 279 

At the opening of the Revolutionary War, the Colonies had 
been a military school with little abatement for thirty years. 
The severe discipline, continued endurance, and indifference 
to danger so long shared, now yielded fruit after its kind. 

They had become familiar with the call to war, and had no 
shrinking sensitiveness about burning powder. If they had 
fought well for their masters who strengthened their fetters, 
they surely would do no less for themselves and freedom. 
So long as the gold of Philip II. was in his coffers, his 
German and Italian troops fought for Philip ; but when his 
gold was gone, the same soldiers were ready to fight against 
Philip for another's gold. But the colonists had fought for 
their Mother Country, and paid themselves with home issue. 
Why not fight for themselves and their own country on the 
same terms? 

THE WAR WAS BEGUN. 

So the glittering bayonets of the five thousand English 
• roops that marched out to Lexington and Concord that 
bright April morning in 1775, hurried back under the friendly 
mask of night. The field was only changed from Louisburg 
and the Plains of Abraham, to Lexington and Bunker Hill. 
The soldier was only changed from the red-coat and cockade 
of the Britishers, to the gray uniform and three-cornered hat 
oi the Continental. 

May 25, 1775, a committee of Capt. Ambrose Dyer, Dea. Joshua Freeman, 
Israel Gross, Eph. Harding and Ebenezer Rich were chosen to represent this 
town in the County Congress to be held in Barnstable. 

June 1, a company of military was organized with David Smith, Capt.; Jno. 
Sellew, Lt. ; Benj. Harding, Ensign. Also that Ambrose Smith be Capt. of the 
alarm-list. Eph'm Harding, Lt. and Barzillai Smith, Ensign. And that each 
man employed as Watch to guard the town, shall have for each night that he 
watches faithfully fifty cents. A committee was chosen to direct the watch. 
Dec. 25 ordered that if any man fire away any powder except to defend the town, 
he shall forfeit six shillings for every charge so fired. 

Additional arms and ammunition was ordered ; and a petition was forwarded 
to headquarters for twelve cannon and 50 men to be stationed near Province- 
town. 



2 8o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The unguarded condition of Provincetown Harbor, one side 
of which is made by Truro, and its occupation as a rendez- 
vous by English men-of-war, was the occasion of so much 
anxiety. A hostile fleet menacing both sides of the town 
was not a pleasant condition. The only force to oppose these 
British veteran soldiers was the town militia and exempts. 

On one occasion when the barges made demonstrations of 
landing .near the Pond Village, the Yankee captain with his 
corn-stalk brigade, marched boldly to the shore in front of a 
high hummock, and after due preliminaries, gave the order. 
For two hours he marched his single company around the 
hummock. The enemy in the meantime concluding such a 
movement of troops denoted immense preparations and rein- 
forcements, returned to their ships. 

Janua^v 15, 1776. The request made for cannon, etc., on the twenty-fifth of 
December last, was revoked, and three field pieces were asked for. Captain 
Hezekiah Harding was delegated to present the petition. Same time, a military 
company was by the Court, stationed at Truro for defence. Joseph Smith, 
Capt. ; Hezekiah Harding, 1st Lt. ; Seth Smith 2d Lt. ; Captain Samuel Harding, 
Commissary. The Court ordered six hundred weight of cannon balls. 

Owing to the peculiar situation of the town, and the possibility of certain con- 
tingencies, it was considered a matter of precaution and expediency to trust to a 
select committee to act for the town. February 12, 1777, Isaiah Atkins, Eph- 
raim Lombard, Richard Stevens, Ephraim Harding, Ambrose Dyer, Deacon 
Joshua Freeman, Barzillai Smith, were appointed that committee. 

March 3, 1776. Capt. Ambrose Dyer, Dea. Ephraim Harding, Mr. Ebenezer 
Rich were appointed a com. to discouse with the men of war, should they come 
with a flag of truce, to know what their requests are, and to do what they 
shall think best for the town and Province. 

June 18, 1776. The question of Independence was considered in Town- 
meeting, and July 9 at an adjourned meeting, the town instructed their represen- 
tative TO FALL IN WITH THE PROVINCIAL AND CONTINENTAL CONGRESSES. 
July 29, 1776, it was voted to give each man who will enlist to fill the town's 
quota for the Crown Point Expedition, ^25. 

Another record says : 

The town raised ,£71 - 17s. - 6d. lawful money and placed it in the hands of 
Capt. Constant Freeman, to pay the men hired in the town to go to Crown 
Point. Sept. 1, 1776, a meeting was held to raise three years' men for the army, 
or during the war ; and forty dollars was offered by the town for each recruit. 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 281 

Sept. j, 1776. The following military officers were chosen for the South 
District of the town. Eben. Rich, Capt. ; David Snow, 1st Lt. ; Richard Rich 
3d, 2d Lt. The next day it was voted that the town's quota for the Continental 
Army be drafted. Sept. 30, 1776, the question of The Union was discussed, 
and referred to a select committee. Nov. 12, 1776, the inhabitants assembled in 
town-meeting to hear the Treason-law read. Dea. Joshua Freeman, Moderator. 

This was an imperative order applying to all the towns. 
It must not be supposed that all were ready to do and die for 
liberty. The taint of treason was here also. But it is 
a matter of surprise, that while their waters were in 
possession of the enemy, her flag daily flaunting before 
their eyes, a good price paid for "aid and comfort," emis- 
saries waiting their opportunity, and the pressure of war 
driving bread from their doors, that so few ever wavered. 

Soon after we find the following : 

The Board of War was requested to furnish field-pieces and ammunition for 
the defense of Truro, and it was ordered that a company be raised in Truro and 
adjoining towns, to be constantly in practice and to be ready at all times to pre- 
vent all intercourse with the British men-of-war in Cape Cod Harbor, or else- 
where, as well as for protection. 

In 1778 a committee was sent to the brigadier to advise 
what is best to trc done about making up the quota of the 
Continental men, as some of the drafted soldiers have paid 
their fines. 

Captain Reuben Higgins was also sent as agent to the Gen- 
eral Court for the same purpose. A watch was sent to guard 
against the enemy's ships in the harbor. Provisions were 
made for the families of soldiers absent on duty. 

In 1779 the town again petitioned for arms. "One hun- 
dred dollars was raised to bear Rev. Mr. Upham's expenses 
to Boston to adjust the prices of the necessities of life." 

The new State constitution was accepted, and the repre- 
sentative instructed. August 29, the town approved of the 
resolves of the convention at Concord, and a committee 
was chosen to regulate the prices here, of articles omitted 
from that convention. The convention at Concord was 
doubtless where Mr. Upham was sent a delegate, and $100 
raised for his expenses. 



282 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

In 1780 the town again petitioned the General Court for an 
abatement of State tax. To defray town and county charges, 
,£1800 was raised. To Rev. Mr. Upham, ^416 was voted 
and £,6o hard money. These were the days of inflation of 
the Continental currency. One hard dollar was ordered 
receivable in the collection of taxes for seventy-five paper. 
The General Court added ^3000 to the annual grant of ^45 
for the support of Rev. Samuel Parker of Provincetown. 

The Continental service now required soldiers for six 
months, and the town was anxious to supply promptly its 
quota. 

It was voted that twenty hard dollars or twenty bushels of corn be paid in 
addition to the two pounds promised by government to each man who shall 
enlist ; and also to allow six shillings per mile travelling fee to the place of abode 
on receiving honorable discharge. 

When we consider the deplorable and really distressed con- 
dition of the seaboard through these prolonged years of war ; 
the sacrifice that had already been made, the scarcity of gold 
or silver, and the actual hard work to give "twenty hard dol- 
lars" for every man that enlisted, we realize the tug of war. 

November 8, 1778, the British man-of-war Somerset, Cap- 
tain Aurey, stranded north of the Clay Pounds, with four 
hundred and eighty men, who were marched from Truro to 
Boston as prisoners. Almost necessarily, such an event 
would be the occasion of some bad management, and no little 
private speculation in a small way. It was the enemy's prop- 
erty. General Otis reflects somewhat on the business man- 
agement ; he says : 

From all I can learn, there is wicked work at the wreck, riotous doings. The 
Tniro and Provincetown men made a division of the clothing, etc. Truro took 
tw tiirds and Provincetown one third. There is a plundering gang that way. 
A Provincetown man by the name of Spencer, and Esquire Bowen of Sandwich, 
libelled her. Spencer put Colonel Doane of Wellfleet on board. 

January 9, the Attorney General was directed by the 
General Court to file a bill against the ship. February n, 
the sheriff was directed to sell the effects, reserving the can- 
non for the State. Provisions were made for remunerating 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 283 

the sailors. As the Somerset had rendezvoused in Province- 
town Harbor for two years, lying at anchor about half-way 
from the Pond Landing to Provincetown, and her barges 
constantly landing, and sometimes picking up our boats and 
vessels, she was well known by the Cape people. It is not 
surprising that her misfortune was regarded as a good time 
to settle up old scores, nor if the riotous doings mentioned 
by General Otis were true. An anecdote is told of a com- 
pany from Hog's Back who visited the ship early the next 
morning, before the captain had given her up. One of the 
party, a short old man with a short-tailed pipe in his mouth 
that had been spliced, inquired for the captain. Captain 
Aurey, supposing he had some authority, received him 
becomingly, when the old man said, " Captain, who did you 
pray to in the storm ? If you had prayed to the Lord he 
wouldn't have sent you here, and I am sure King George 
wouldn't." The Captain looked at him a moment and pleas- 
antly replied, " Old man, you've had your pipe fished, haven't 
you ? " 

Captain Sears Rich of Truro, has a handsome cane made 
from the timber of the Somerset — some of the sturdy English 
oak. The old ship now lies buried in the sand not far from 
the Peaked Hills, sound as ever. I have been informed by 
Captain Henry Cook of Provincetown, that a few years ago 
the sand blew out, leaving her hull much exposed ; that 
several cart-loads were cut away from the wreck. Captain 
Cook has several timbers that he cut from her. A silver 
watch — some of the effects — was keeping good time at the 
Pond Village a few years ago. 

The officers from the English ships often visited the people, 
and had cultivated their acquaintance ; socially, were on 
pleasant terms. They attended church, and the chaplains 
not unfrequently preached. Dr. William Thayer was a sur- 
geon on an English man-of-war. He married Lucy Rich of 
South Truro, raised a family and practised medicine in Truro 
till the close of a long life. Some quite romantic attach- 
ments have been told. 

A gentleman now living has seen a pair of andirons in use 



284 TRURO —CAPE COD. 

in Truro, that were made from chain-shot thrown ashore 
from a war ship. 

June 5, 1780. Another requisition was made for reinforcements. The quota 
for Truro was eleven. June 22d, another call was made for thirteen, and Decem- 
ber 1, still another for nine. 

Here were thirty-two men demanded in less than six 
months from this already overdrained town. Three calls 
were also made for beef, aggregating 13,460 pounds. 

In 1781 another call was made for seven men. October 19, 1781, Truro repre- 
sented her reduced condition and utter inability to produce its quota of men or 
supplies and prayed for relief. 

It was voted that in lieu of the beef required by this town for the sustenance 
of the army, ^"4416 be sent to the Gen. Court, as it was impossible to provide it. 
The town now voted $1000 to each man who will enlist in the Continental service. 
A committee was appointed to see if the Gen. Court will allow the depreciation 
on the money paid to soldiers' wives. Military officers chosen this year were, Jede- 
diah Paine, Capt. ; Seth Dyer, 1st Lt. ; Ambrose Snow, Jr., 2d Lt. In July an 
attempt was made to raise five months' men for the army and $100 in silver was 
offered as the town bounty. 

This year, 1781, money was scarcer than ever, and rates 
could be collected only with the greatest difficulty. But 
few could offer satisfactory security to obtain money, and that 
at a ruinous sacrifice. 

Sept. 17. A meeting was called to consult what can be done to furnish 
blankets, shirts, shoes and stockings demanded from this town for the army. 

1782 dawned upon the Colonies in a most troublous, but not 
hopeless condition. The coast towns, particularly those on 
the lower part of the Cape, where, owing to continued pres- 
sure, constant emigration was going on, were by far the 
greatest sufferers ; their condition was growing desperate, 
but there is no sign of weakness ; not a word of yielding the 
cause. " A committee was again chosen, whose duty it shall 
be to go on board the enemy's ships in Cape Cod harbor, 
if necessity shall arise." 

A great many Cape men were now on board of privateers. 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 285 

From May, 1776, to February, 1778, one hundred and seventy- 
three American privateers made prizes of seven hundred and 
thirty-three British vessels, over four to each, which, with 
their cargoes, were worth not less than twenty millions of 
dollars after deducting the balance of property retaken and 
restored. It may be stated on authority, that during the war, 
quite two hundred thousand tons of British shipping was cap- 
tured by our privateers, which were largely manned by fish- 
ermen. It was this wholesale gobbling of the enemy's 
substance that pieced out our own resources, but sapped the 
resources and aggravated the people of England, and so 
much embarrassed the ministry in their measures. 

Marblehead, a loyal and brave old town, had at the begin- 
ning of the war upwards of twelve thousand tons of ship- 
ping ; at the close it was one eighth of that amount. In 
capital, population and importance, she was second only to 
Boston before the war. No other town in the United States 
lost so large a proportion of property and men. Captain 
John Manly, of Marblehead, enjoyed the high honor of receiv- 
ing the first British flag, and hoisting the first American. 

Salem's fleet was reduced from sixty vessels to six. At 
the close of the war, five hundred prisoners were released 
from Old Mill prison. In 1777 the American Colonies laid 
before Europe that noble Declaration, which, says an English 
writer, "Deserves to be hung up in the nursery of every 
king, and blazoned on the porch of every royal palace." 
But not till the seventh year of the war, at the conclusive 
battle of Yorktown, and surrender of Earl Cornwallis, Octo- 
ber 19, 1 78 1, was that Declaration honored. Peace was not 
fully restored till 1783. 

Doctor Samuel Adams, of Truro, was a true patriot, and 
entered with ardor into the cause. He first acted on the 
committee of correspondence, but at an early day entered the 
army as a surgeon, where he served till the close of the war, 
gaining the reputation of a zealous patriot and skilful physi- 
cian. Doctor Adams was a native of Killingly, Conn., 
the son of Henry, who came to New England in 1630. 
He studied medicine with Doctor Nathaniel Freeman of Sand- 



286 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

wich. After the war he settled in Bath, Me., where he died 
in 1 8 19, aged seventy-four. 

Benjamin Collins, an uncle of the present Jesse, when 
eighteen years of age, belonged to the barge that rowed 
General Benedict Arnold on board the Vulture. He was 
first drugged and kept on board till he understood that 
Arnold had joined the enemy, and that he would be regarded 
a traitor ; he then ran away, and did not return for forty- 
eight years, when he visited Truro for one year, and returned 
to his home in Canada, where he had a family, and where 
he died. 

Lieutenant Ebenezer Collins, aged twenty-five, was killed 
at the siege of Boston, and buried on Prospect Hill. He 
wrote in his last letter, when the English army held Boston, 
" We are about to move on the British, and may the Lord of 
hosts go with us." Solomon, aged twenty-one, died at the 
Army Hospital in New York, 1776 ; Richard, aged thirty, 
died at home of sickness contracted in the army, 1777 ; Jona- 
than, aged thirty-three, died a prisoner in Halifax, 1778 : were 
sons of Jonathan Paine, and uncles of the present Richard. 
Lemuel Paine, son of Elkanah, died on board the prison-ship 
Old Jersey, at New York, during the Revolutionary War. 

The Reverend Levi Whitman of Wellfleet, wrote Doctor 
Freeman in 1790 referring to the Cape : " No towns suffered 
more during the war except those reduced to ashes." The story 
of these long years is best told by the simple records which, as 
we have seen, indicate that men and means were taxed to the 
utmost limit, by their unfaltering patriotism. The especial 
attention called by the devoted patriot General Joseph Otis, 
and others in commanding positions during the war, that Truro 
was among the first to do her duty, and her example quoted as 
worthy of imitation by some others, is a gratifying portion of 
history not to be forgotten. It is impossible to ascertain 
accurately the number of men furnished ; fifteen officers 
were named ; perhaps some of these belonged to the militia. 
From the twenty-six houses north of the Pond Village, where 
now are three only, twenty-eight men were either killed, died 
by sickness in camp, or on board prison-ships. The number 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 287 

of men altogether furnished could not have been less than two 
hundred, which seems almost incredible from so small a town. 

The Brig Resolution, an American privateer, was taken by 
an English vessel November 27, 1780, and her crew committed 
to Old Mill Prison January 22, 1771, among whom were 
Thomas Cobb, Isaac Snow, Joseph Crowell, Elias Gage, 
Stephen Young, Jeremiah Newcomb, Aquilla Rich, Samuel 
Curtis, Nathan Atwood, Eleazer Higgins, Elisha Jones, 
Joseph Pierce, and Ezekiel Rich : Truro and Wellfleet men. 
Obadiah Rich was commander of the brig Intrepid of four 
guns. Whether he then lived in Truro, I am not informed. 

During the year 1775, David Snow, father of the late Cap- 
tain Ephraim of Cohasset, was living with his large family in 
the broad flat house originally belonging to John Snow, last 
occupied by Joshua Dyer. Mr. Snow, accompanied by his son 
David, a lad of fifteen years, while fishing in a boat from the 
Back Side, was captured by one of the numerous English priva- 
teers that constantly hovered round our coast ; and in spite 
of the most earnest remonstrance, was carried to Halifax. The 
privateer in question was known as the " shaving-mill." 

When the father and son did not in due time return, the 
friends and neighbors gathered on the bank, but no trace of 
the missing boat could be discovered ; and as no tidings 
reached the afflicted family, they were soon given up, and the 
bereaved wife nerved herself for the life task before her. 

From Halifax they were transferred to Old Mill Prison. 
They soon gained the confidence of the officers, who gave 
them many privileges. One day young David found a large 
file which his father advised him to keep, as he saw in 
it a key to liberty. To carry out his plot, Mr. Snow pro- 
posed a great frolic and dance throughout the prison. He 
enlisted thirty-six of the prisoners in his little scheme. With 
the fiddling began the heavy double shuffle of the prison bro- 
gans, which, brought down square on to the rough floor, 
drowned the sharp squeak of the rasp doing full service in 
strong hands on the prison bars. 

Great enthusiasm was given to the dance, and fresh hands 
kept the file doing full work till a place was made large enough 



2 88 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

for exit, when the thirty-six men, not missed in the excitement 
of the dance, emerged into the prison yard. To knock down 
the sentinels and escape clear from the old prison was short 
work. They were now outside the walls of Old Mill, and fif- 
teen miles from Plymouth Harbor, whither they directed their 
steps in double-quick, knowing well that their success was to 
be clear of the shore of England before daylight. The only 
conveyance possible at Plymouth was a large scow oh which 
they embarked, and when the morning prison gun echoed 
over the moors, the thirty-six men were afloat on the water 
of the English Channel. 

With almost superhuman strength, they boarded a small 
vessel near by, and under threat of surrender or death, were 
soon in command of their prize, and trimmed their sails for 
the coast of France. Upon arrival they sold their prize, Mr. 
Snow and his son retaining forty dollars as their share. 

They gave themselves up to the French government, were 
placed on board of a cartel, sent to America, and landed in 
some part of the Carolinas. As the war was still going on, 
and the coast guarded, their only hope of getting home was by 
land, which Mr. Snow and his son accomplished by weeks of 
wearisome travel. Upon their arrival at Boston peace had 
been declared. They soon found passage to Provincetown, 
and received intelligence of friends who had mourned them 
as dead for seven years. They continued their homeward 
march. By inquiry, Mr. Snow found his wife was sewing at 
Isaac Small's, where he presented himself without ceremony. 
A messenger from the shades of death, he seemed to his wife, 
who fell as dead at his feet. 

The boy David, who in the seven years had become a stal- 
wart man, had passed on to his own neighborhood, but 
instead of going to his own house, went to his old neighbor, 
Lot Harding's. He introduced himself as a stranger, but in 
the conversation, one of the bright-eyed girls said to her sis- 
ter, " If that isn't David Snow, it is his ghost." Mrs. Snow 
recovered, and walked home with her husband. David seeing 
them coming, met them in the road near the corner, where 
neighbors and friends joined and welcomed them home. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1786— REV. JUDE DAMON— 1828. 

The Third settled Minister of the Church of Christ in Truro. Ordination. Sketch of 
Mr. Damon. Church Wheels. Dr. Hersey's Will. Deacon's Congress. Utopian. 
Election of Deacons. First and Last Baptisms. A Peacemaker. A side Wind. 
Polite Boys. The " old Shay." Four Kings. Mr. Damon and Mr. Job. Orthodoxy 
Rev. Joseph Cook. A good Man. A good Minister. The great Sickness of 1816. 
The Triumvirate. The old North. Moral Excellence. Christian Forbearance. 
Old Blood. Huldah Rich. The Squire and the Priest. Peggy Rider. Accepting 
the Terms. Bible Society. John. Stately Gravestones. Mr. Damon's Register. 
His best Monument. The Truro Astronomer. The Conclusion. 

SEPTEMBER 25, 1786, a meeting was held to see if the 
town would concur with the Church in calling to ihe pas- 
toral office Rev. Jude Damon. The town united in the call, 
and voted ^200 specie by way of a settlement, and a salary of 
£ 75 specie annually, and the use of the parsonage ; fifteen 
cords of good oak wood and three cords of pine and five tons 
of hay, to be delivered at his door each year. A few dissented 
from the call. He was ordained November 15, 1786. After 
the ordination forty dollars (Spanish Milled) were voted by 
the town to Captain Joshua Atkins for entertaining the ordain- 
ing council. 

First and last Baptisms : — November 19, 1786, baptized 
Mary, daughter of Jonathan Snow and Deliverance his wife ; 
January 25, 1828, Alexander Richards Kelley, adult ; Mr. 
Kelley died in 1866, at Los Angeles, California, where he was 
engaged in business. He was a brother to Benjamin S. 
Kelley, a well-known citizen of Truro. 

March 29, 1792. On Lecture day the Church passed a vote that every male 
member should contribute four pence and every female member four coppers, 
which was judged sufficient to provide for the Communion Tabic. 

2S9 



290 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

June, 1794. Elizabeth Treat, wife of Samuel Treat Junior, made application 
to the pastor for a dismissal from the Church, to join a Baptist Church in Har- 
wich, and desired to have her request for a dismission laid before the Church. 
June 26 being lecture day, the request of the said Elizabeth Treat for a dis- 
missionfrom the Church, was layed before the Church; and after some conver- 
sation on the subject, it was voted to choose a Committee of three brethren to 
go and converse with her in regard to the matter of her request. The Com- 
mittee chosen were Svlvanus Snow Esq., John Rich, and Deacon Ephraim 
Harding. 

Attest. JUDE DAMON. Pastor. 

Whatever the facilities of getting into that Church, it will 
be admitted that, like Ezekiel's vision by the river Chebar, it 
was a wheel within awheel, and hard to get out to join another 
church with a different creed. 

June 10, 1795. Lecture Day, the Church voted unanimously to abide by and 
defend with the other Churches, concerning the will of the late Doctor Hersey 
of Barnstable, against all attempts whatsoever that may be made to break said 
will. 

Attest. JUDE DAMON. Pastor. 

Several references are made to this bequest, and committees 
appointed from time to time to attend to the same, for more 
lhan twenty years. Perplexing questions growing out of this 
will were often referred to the Legislature. A full account 
of Doctor Hersey and his will is given in Freeman 's History. 

As a strange freak of eccentricity, and as Truro was inter- 
ested with all the other Cape towns, we present the principal 
points. Doctor Abner Hersey was a practising physician of 
Barnstable, who died in about 1794, leaving a considerable 
estate and no children. His will directed that his estate after 
the payment of £, 500 to Harvard College, should be vested in 
the thirteen Congregational Churches then existing in Barn- 
stable County. It necessitated an annual meeting of delegates 
irom all the thirteen churches, whose expenses were paid out 
of the estate. This, though not so intended, was the most 
successful part of the will, as it created an annual excursion 
for three deacons from each of the thirteen churches, who 
were constituted trustees, to meet annually at Barnstable and 
there compare notes and refresh themselves upon the Doctor's 



RE V. JUDE DAMON. 291 

liberality. Unfortunately for the deacons, the estate did not 
pay the expenses, and so the property was sold and a division 
made among the churches. The amount to the church in 
Truro was three hundred and five dollars in all. The will 
was no doubt intended as purely Orthodox, but it proved 
purely Utopian. After minute directions as to the manage- 
ment of the farm, the fences, crops, wood-cutting, etc. 

The directors were to pay over the net income to the pastors, who were to 
invest in books and distribute one third part to be applied in purchasing Dr. 
Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul — one third part Dr. 
Evan's sermons on the Christian Temple — twelve sixty-third parts Grove's dis- 
course on the Lord's Supper — eighteen sixty-third parts on Dr. Doddridge's 
Discourses on Regeneration and his two sermons on Salvation by Faith — nine 
sixty-third parts Doddridge's Discourses to Young People — twelve sixty-third 
parts Discourses of the same on the Education of Children — twelve sixty- 
third parts discourses of the same on the Grace of Christ and on the Evidences of 
Christianity. 

After the lapse of one hundred years, ministers of the thirteen Cape Cod 
parishes (mentioning them all) were to be allowed to select other books of like 
character except that, every fourth year the books purchased must forever be 
the books afore specified. 

January 27, 1796. At a church meeting appointed for the purpose of choos- 
ing persons to officiate as deacon in the church, the brethren by written votes 
unanimously made choice of Mr. Jonathan Snow. 

April 14, 1802. At a church meeting Mr. Anthony Snow was chosen by the 
written votes of the church unto the office of deacon. 

May 1S16. At a church meeting appointed for the purpose of choosing one 
of the brethren to officiate as deacon of the church, Benjamin Hinckley Jun., 
was unanimously chosen by written vote. 

April 11, 1813, being Fast Day, after divine service Allen Hinckley Esq. and 
Mr. Lewis Lombard were unanimously chosen by the written votes of the 
church unto the office of deacon. 

June 1, 18 14, being Lecture Day, after the services were concluded the 
brethren of the church were desired to stop a short time. The pastor then pro- 
posed to the said brethren to lay aside and drop the custom practised in the 
church, of requiring persons to make a public confession of some particular 
instance of omission direct, as a prerequisite to making a christian profession, 
in order to have baptism administered to their children. The vote being called 
for, it passed in the affirmative. 

Attest. JUDE DAMON. Pastor. 



292 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Mr, Damon was cautious in all his statements, always allow- 
ing for a margin on the safe side. On one occasion in the 
fall of the year, when a fleet of four or five hundred mackerel 
catchers made the bay white with their sails, Mr. Damon sur- 
veyed them with delight from the bank, and said to a neigh- 
bor, " I never saw such a beautiful sight ; I should think there 
must be seventy-five vessels." 

In the early part of his ministry particularly, it was the cus- 
tom of the fishermen to make two trips during the season to 
the Banks. So that during the summer months, some of the 
vessels were going and coming at the same time. If the wind 
was west, it would be fair only for those going down to the 
Banks ; and if east, only fair for those coming home, and dead 
ahead for the return fleet. Mr. Damon soon understood this, 
and his benevolent heart shaped his prayers to the contin- 
gency, by introducing the following passage : 

" We pray, O Lord, that thou wilt watch over our mariners 
that go down to do business upon the mighty deep, keep them 
in the hollow of thy hand ; and we pray thee, that thou wilt 
send a side-wind, so that their vessels may pass and repass." 

Great deference was paid the minister in those days by old 
and young, and the ministers in turn paid great deference to 
the people and maintained a dignified self respect with no sus- 
picion of pride or superiority. 

Mr. Marshall Ayres of New York, son of the late Doctor 
Ayres, stated at a social meeting, "that the boys never 
failed to take off their hats when they passed Mr. Damon, 
and he never failed to recognize them, and pleasantly remark, 
'Thank ye, good boys,' " or some other like expressions. 

A good meaning man was anxious to join the Church, whom 
Mr. Damon thought best to keep awhile longer on probation, 
or on his good behavior. He became at last a little impatient. 
Said he did not want to be the last. Mr. Damon told him to 
hold out a while longer and he need not feel afraid of being 
last, as the Bible said " the last should be first." 

Mr. Damon's parish embraced the whole town. He visited 
regularly his parishioners ; it was considered a compliment 
whenever the minister called ; and so it passed into a compli- 



REV. JUDE DAMON. 2 93 

ment among the people when their neighbors or friends came 
to see them, whom they were glad to see, to say, "I would 
as soon have expected Mr. Damon." 

On one occasion the "old shay" was seen approaching a 
house before things were to my lady's mind ; the four roguish 
boys were not over-dressed or over-clean. The big-mouthed 
oven stood open, and as any harbor in a storm, the four boys 
were hustled into it, and told to keep still till the minis- 
ter had gone. Soon after Mr. Damon was well seated, the 
good woman was disturbed by an inquiry from the oven, " Has 
he gone ? " Losing her presence of mind, she exclaimed, 
" Keep still, you little scamps ! " which let the cat out of the 
bag. 

That muflle-doored oven did not contain future presidents 
or governors, but it did contain four future kings — ocean 
kings who ruled their little kingdoms up and down the world. 

Like old Job, Mr. Damon was puzzled over that theological 
problem, the prosperity and long life of the wicked, and the 
man whom God hath hedged in. Perhaps sitting together 
under the tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, 
the man of Uz and the Truro minister have long since settled 
that knotty point. 

Mr. Damon's later years were somewhat ruffled by that 
old foe, sectarianism, which disputed the good man's theology 
and alienated some of his friends. 

For, letting down the golden chain from high, 
He drew his audience upward to the sky. 
He warned the sinner with becoming zeal, 
But on eternal mercy loved to dwell. 
He taught the gospel rather than the law ; 
And forced himself to drive, but loved to draw. 

In doctrine Mr. Damon sympathized with the spirit of his 
time, and preached more Unitarianism than Orthodoxy. I 
suppose it is a mild declaration that the old-school Orthodoxy 
that Rev. Joseph Cook says " took Charles the First by the 
throat and broke his neck," and that fled from England for 
conscience sake, had lost much of its sectarian zeal and doc- 
trinal grip about this time. Be this as it may, Mr. Damon 



294 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

was a good man and a Christian. Whatever his doctrinal 
leanings, he preached the gospel as he understood it, without 
cant or dogmatism. He lived in happy communion with his 
people, and spent his life in faithfully ministering to them, who 
in return loved and respected him to the last. He always 
visited and prayed with every sick or afflicted family in town. 

Wide was his parish — houses far asunder — 
But he neglected naught for rain or thunder, 
In sickness and in grief, to visit all, 
The farthest in his parish great and small. 

In simple rounds of toil the years flowed quietly and pleas- 
antly along. Distractions nor expectations on either side 
disturbed not his even way. 

The Cape people, and all people, make a date of important 
local events. The elderly will tell you such a person was 
born or died the year after the " Embargo," or the year of the 
"great sickness," or the year before the "great April," or 
" September or October gale," just as in history we tell about 
Julius Caesar, or The Spanish War, or Napoleon in Egypt, 
and with just as much propriety. 

I find in the old Church history, the following notice of the 
great sickness so often mentioned among the old people in 
Truro forty years ago. It is without signature, but I judge it 
was written by Rev. Mr. Damon. " In the month of February, 
and year 1816, an epidemic appeared in the town of Eastham 
in this county and proved very mortal. It was called by dif- 
ferent names, as malignant fever, putrid fever, spotted fever, 
cold plague, etc. It extended from Brewster to Provincetown ; 
in the latter place but lightly. It did not seem to be conta- 
gious ; some that went freely among the sick continued well, 
while those who avoided the sick died. Its signs were pains, 
either in the head, breast, side, arms and legs, attended with 
chills. The pulse in general very low and great debility. 
Some lived four or five days and were in great distress. 
Those who lived over the seventh or ninth day generally 
recovered. It was melancholy times. The grave was daily 
opened to receive the dead. Two or three funerals in a day 



RE V. JUDE DAMON. 295 

often took place. Many houses were emphatically houses of 
mourning. Five were shut up in consequence of sudden 
deaths. Thirty-six died in this town ; but few that did not feel 
some symptoms of the prevailing sickness. The first death 
occurred on the ninth day of March, the last on the twenty- 
third day of May. Seventy-two persons died in Eastham ; 
about one eleventh of the population. Five were buried in 
one day, and there was seldom a day during the fifty days of 
the sickness, without a funeral. It required the services of 
all the well to care for the sick. The physicians could give 
no satisfactory reason for the strange epidemic." 

THE TRIUMVIRATE. 

It is worthy of notice that the united years of service ren- 
dered by Messrs. Avery, Upham and Damon, the first three 
ministers of "the Church of Christ in Truro," was one hun- 
dred and eighteen years. During this time eight hundred 
and thirty-nine were added to the Church and three thousand 
nine hundred and sevanty-five were baptized. Though not 
prepared to prove that this embraces a larger consecutive 
period than that of any other three ministers of the same 
church in New England, I have no reasonable doubt such is 
the fact. Commencing in the reign of Queen Anne, it 
reaches within nine years of the succession of Victoria. It 
commenced with the British Colonies in America a few feeble 
settlements, under a Governor appointed by the Crown ; it 
closed over a free and independent nation, acknowledged and 
respected among the great powers of the earth. With the 
death of Mr. Damon closed really the old Church regime, 
and began the new order of modern Congregationalism, or 
Orthodoxy in Truro. 

It is a remarkable circumstance, and in the light of modern 
experience, it seems almost increditable, that so few important 
and really no radical changes took place in the history of the 
church during these one hundred and eighteen years. A 
single church, embracing an entire growing township, cover- 
ing more than three and a half generations, passing through 



296 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

revolution and fire and sword and famine and pestilence ; 
without break or ripple, without a stain upon its ministry, or 
serious rupture in its membership, is a history not to be 
shrouded in dim old records, but to be repeated and reiterated 
to the name and fame of both ministers and people, and to the 
glory of Christ in the world. None of the orthodox councils 
mentioned by Thoreau, convened from time to time to inquire 
into the orthodoxy of these faithful ministers of the Lord 
Jesus. During this time only one Ecclesiastical Council was 
called and that of little significance ; the charge against one 
of the deacons not being sustained. 

By this reference to the general moral excellence of the 
community, we shall not be understood as intimating freedom 
in any superhuman manner from human frailties. The lion's 
whelp is not a lamb. Not all the blood of all the Howards, 
nor all the peace societies in the world, nor all the prayers of 
all the saints, could change the blood of the Anglo-Saxon race. 
Calvinist or Cavalier, Puritan or Papist, Roundhead or Royal- 
ist, the choleric Englishman is there, and ready to fight for 
his rights or his wrongs. When the Puritan turned cavalier, 
none would defend the gospel of slavery so terribly. The 
charity and forbearance of the Church was often called to 
meet the faults and follies of their friends and neighbors 
bearing the name of Christ. Committees, as we have noticed, 
wereofttimes appointed to confer with such to make confession, 
that thereby they might be restored to their former good 
standing. By such careful oversight and Christian ministra- 
tions, many were persuaded back to the churchfold, and 
many valued names preserved. Thus the standard of religion 
was maintained, the Christian profession respected, and the 
Church continued a blessing to the world. 



May 28, 18 1 7, it being Lecture day, after the service was concluded, the pastor 
read to the brethren of the Church a letter which he had received from Huldah 
Rich, wife of Thomas Rich, and another letter from Dorcas Snow, requesting a 
dismission from the Church in order to join the Methodist Church. After 
some conversation respecting this request, the question was put, Shall they be 
dismissed ? and the Church voted to give them a dismission. 

Attest. JUDE DAMON. Pastor. 



RE V. JUDE DAMON. 297 

This is the first reference in the records to the secession 
of the Methodists, or as they were then called, " Newlights," 
which a few years later seceded in large numbers. That there 
should sometimes be illiberal feeling, and sometimes want of 
Christian charity during the excitement of this religious con- 
troversy, is not surprising. The rising of a new church or 
sect with radical changes in form and doctrine from the only 
and long established congregation in town, was a severe strain. 
Through all these years of trial, from 1817 till his death in 
1828, Mr. Damon preserved a singularly mild and catholic 
spirit, showing the broad unsectarian man and Christian. He 
warred not with those who differed from him in faith or prac- 
tice, and fairly said to his people, " they must choose for them- 
selves." Huldah Rich was the mother of the late Captain 
Richard Baker of Charlestown, of whom a notice will be found 
in these pages. 

Although the Methodist ministers were accredited clergy- 
men and formally authorized to attend the sacraments and to 
officiate in all the functions of the ministry, for a long time 
there was great opposition to their "solemnizing" baptismal 
and marriage ceremonies. As an instance, after a Methodist 
minister had married Peggy Rider, and the bridal party had 
gone to their home, some of the congregation objected, and 
the squire was sent to legalize the marriage. The lady had 
retired when the squire arrived, but was willing to be doubly 
married if the ceremony could be performed in her room. 
All of which was done and the law magnified. 

An old bachelor who had lived mostly at home and consid- 
erably tied to his mother's apron strings, concluded he would 
marry. He wrote to a handsome Methodist widow living in 
Frovincetown, that if she would come to Truro and live, and 
join the "Orthodox" Church, he would marry her. The lady 
acknowledged the letter, and said, if he would come to Prov- 
incetown and live, and join the Methodist Church, she would 
consent. Both of which conditions he accepted, and proved 
the wisdom of his concessions by years of happy compan- 
ionship. 

Mr. Damon died in the forty-second year of his ministry, 



298 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

during which time one hundred and eighty-six were added to 
the Church. He possessed a kind, peaceful disposition — was 
eminently worthy of the blessing of the peacemakers. There 
was little occasion for a lawyer where he gathered his flock. 

We copy from the Church record the following short 
sketch, in graceful finished penmanship, without signature. 

Rev. Jude Damon was born in East Sudbury, Massachusetts, the fourth of 
October, 1751. Graduated at Harvard University A. r>. 1776. was ordained pas- 
tor of the Church and society in Truro the fifteenth of November, 17S6. The 
ordination sermon by Rev. Josiah Bridge of East Sudbury. Rev. Jude Damon 
died Wednesday morning at twenty minutes past two o'clock, November 19, 
1828. He had been feeble for some weeks, when he received a shock of the 
palsy, about three weeks before his death. His remains were interred Friday, 
November 21, 1828. His people manifested their love for him and respect for 
his memory by a general attention to his funeral 

The services were a sermon by Rev. Mr. Shaw of Eastham, and prayers by 
Rev. Mr. Stone of Provincetown and Rev. Mr. Davis of Wellfleet. Mr. Shaw's 
text was in Philippians, first chapter, twenty-first verse ; " For me to live is 
Christ, but to die is gain." Rev. Mr. Shaw preached the succeeding Sabbath, 
text, in Daniel, " An excellent spirit was in him." Rev. Stephen Bailey has 
been preaching for some time in Mr. Damon's stead, from whom Mr. Damon 
while living, and his family at his decease, received his kind attention, affection 
and sympathy. 

In 1 8 19 the ladies of Truro presented Mr. Damon with 
thirty dollars, to constitute him a life member of the Amer- 
ican Bible Society, then in its youth and needing every 
dollar that could be raised in its behalf. In 18 18 the names 
of sixty men and women are recorded, who gave each a dollar 
to purchase a stove for the meeting-house. Not one of these 
sixty is now (1877) alive. 

Mr. Damon married Mary, daughter of Eleazer Lewis of 
Truro. He had sons who were merchants in New York, and 
John, a mute, who received the entire estate, which was 
exhausted before his death, some fifteen years ago. John 
was a great visitor, quite regularly visiting every house in 
town. For some years previous to his death, Mr. Damon 
used to take John along when he drove to see his parishion- 
ers. Quite probably John thereby acquired his itenerating 
habits. He was sometimes mischievous ; one day he let 
Esquire Small's cows into the rye-barn, where they destroyed 



RE V. JUDE DAMON. 299 

considerable grain and jeopardised their own lives. Mr. 
Damon was sent for. He surveyed the work of his unfortu- 
nate son and calmly said, "Squire, I am very sorry; if John 
does it again or anything bad, you must whip him, and you, 
Thomas (the squire's son), may whip him, and you Mr. Hill 
(the hired man), may whip him, but not much." 

The parsonage in the Pond Village is now owned by Jere- 
miah Hopkins. At the northwest part of the graveyard, fac- 
ing the road, stand two stately gray freestone slabs, with 
inscriptions as follows : 

This stone is erected 
over the grave of 

the late 

Rev. Jude Damon 

former pastor of the 

Congregational Church 

& Society of this town 

ordained Nov. 15, 1786 

died " 19, 1828 

in the 78 year of his age 

the 43 of his ministry 

" Blessed are the Peacemakers, for 

they shall be called the children of God." 

This stone is erected 

over the grave of 

Mrs. Mary Lewis 

Relict of the late 

Rev. Jude Damon 

Died Dec. ig, 1830. 

She was an affectionate wife a kind 

neighbour and an ornament to society, 

Mr. Damon left a register of deaths, marriages, and some 
few notes, which is a valuable record. It was presented to 
the family of the Rev. Osborne Myrick, of whom notice is 
made in this book, by Frederick Damon, son of the minister. 
Through the courtesy 'of Mr. Myrick it came into my hands. 
It is closely written, as if every inch of the paper was gold, in 
a plain round hand, neat and systematically kept, on stamped 
unruled foolscap, with a pasteboard cover, coarse and rough 
as an elephant's hide. 



3 oo TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The first record, "November 21st, 1786, John Selah to 
Mercy Harding. The last, October 22d, 1828, widow Susan- 
nah Gross in the seventieth year of her age." This is written 
with a palsied hand. The last marriage, September 25th 
1828, Michael Hopkins Jun. to Mary L. Harding. 

His own marriage is recorded on the first leaf of the book, 
as follows : 

Jude Damon and Mary Lewis 

were married February 23d 1792 

by Revd. Sam'l Parker of Provincetown. 

On the next page he writes : 

My grandfather Damon died March 6th, 1796, in the ninety-third year of his 
age. He was a constant reader of the Bible. 

My grandmother Damon died in the 97th year of her age. For ten or twelve 
years before her death she was unable to walk any without help. 

My father died November 25th 1813, in the eighty-third year of his age. He 
was distinguished for his constant attendance on the public worship — for many 
years successively he attended the worship of God on the Sabbath without being 
absent so much as one Sabbath. 

My mother died June 4th, 1796, in the sixty-eighth year of her age. She was a 
kind and tender parent, and was esteemed for her piety and love of religion by 
all that were acquainted with her. She died suddenly. 

The above records tell with an emphasis the character of 
the ancestry of the old New England ministry. 

MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 

Marriages recorded, 438. Abreast of each, the fees paid, 
except " those that have no sum affixed to their names, gave 
but six shillings, the fee required by law." In a few 
instances he writes: "He gave for fee only one crown." 
Other sums are mentioned without remark, as "a crown and 
pistereen. Four crowns. Nine shillings three and one half 
pence. A half guinea. A guinea." The largest fee men- 
tioned is two guineas, and is particularly noticed. "1811, 
October 1st. Stephen Mills to Rebecca Coan ; two guineas 
was given by Mr. Mills for marrying him." He first wrote 
two English guineas, but drew his pen through the English. 



RE V. JLTDE DAMON. 301 

It was a custom in New England to use the superfluous 
adjective. It shows in this case the power of habit over 
knowledge. 

Under federal currency, the usual payment was two dol- 
lars, often three ; in many instances five. The largest sum 
mentioned is, " 181 2, Dec. 3, Samuel Rider to Olive Ay res 
$5.75." The seventy-five cents was evidently to cover some 
indirect expense In one instance he remarks, " Only one dol- 
lar." Two instances of "married gratis." The first, "A 
widower seventy-four years of age belonging to Eastham;" 
the second, " He was a widower of sixty-eight and she a maid 
of sixty-six." " 1788, Dec. 4, Samuel Dickerson of Munson, 
to Elizabeth Lombard." Mr. Dickerson was the missionary 
to Sumatra, or some of the East India missions, murdered by 
the natives. 

The average of the fees are highly creditable to the means 
and position of the young men of that generation. All the 
possibilities considered, a young man would be wise to defer 
economy till the minister has been pretty well paid. 

Deaths, : — With the deaths, mention is made of the decease 
of those lost at sea, and occasionally, a special notice. Each 
case is numbered, so that the aggregate is readily found. 

1790, March 22, Capt. Joshua Atkins departed this life, having completed 
nearly SS years. He was an active man and ruled the Town pretty much accord- 
ing to his own mind, and for this reason he was called Governor Atkins. He 
was nearly blind sometime before he died. 

There is the least possible intimation in the above that the 
imperious old captain whose name appears often in these 
records, had tried to rule the good ministers, as well as the 
town ; if so, the minister surely had the last word, as not un- 
frequently happens in such cases. 

1790, Lydia Gross aged 22, consumption. The consumption seems to be very 
prevalent on the Cape. 

The above remark is made after enumerating a number of 
deaths by this disease. Of the twenty-three deaths in 1790, 



3 o2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

eleven are mentioned as consumption. I should estimate that 
consumption on the Cape had almost disappeared, compared 
with the old average of nearly one half. Fever came next. 

1 791, March 19, the widow Mary Treat, aged about 95. She came from Eng- 
land at the age of fourteen, and was a person of a fine mind and robust constitu- 
tion. She gave me a tolerable account of London and Westminster bridges, and 
likewise observed that the distance from Dover in England to Calais in France, 
was so small that in a very clear day linen might be seen from one place to 
the other. 

1792, January 16, Mary Palmer aged 41, was accidently killed by the discharge 
of a gun that was loaded with powder and shot. The unhappy and melancholy 
action was done by Richard Snow, a nephew of the deceased. 

1800, September 30, Samuel Small aged 53. Killed by the caving in of a well. 
1801, Nov. 13, Deacon Jonathan Snow aged 61. He was an exemplary man and 
used the office of a deacon well. 1807, July 22, Joseph Cobb aged 82 years. 
Mortification in his foot and leg. He was a friend to his minister and one of 
his benefactors. 1809, January, Richard Cobb in the eighty-seventh year of his 
age. A man of a serious and exemplary life and conversation. March 21, 
George Lewis in the eighty-ninth year of his age. A pious and good man whose 
great desire was to be prepared for another and better world and to have an 
easy passage out of the present. His departure hence was apparently easy. 
1814, January 16, Isaac Hopkins, old age, 89 wanting about six weeks. He was 
the oldest male person born in the town that has died since my settlement in 
the gospel ministry. 

1814, January 20, John Kenney, a native of Ireland. Old age, supposed to be 
nearly ninety. 

June 19, widow Ruth Atkins in the eighty-third year of her age. Mrs. Atkins 
was a very useful and active woman, not only in her own family, but in those 
of her neighbors', and indeed in those of a great many throughout the town. 
Her usefulness and her activity in sickness and in midwifery will be remembered 
and her memory will be embalmed with a grateful perfume in the minds of all 
who were within the circle of her acquaintance. 

1820, November 1, Deacon Ephraim Harding aged 89 years. He had a taste 
for reading both sacred and profane history. 

1816, March 30, Jaazaniah Gross aged 46, a man distinguished for his active 
and enterprising spirit, greatly prospered in his secular affairs, tender-hearted 
and kind to the poor, a constant attendant on public worship when from sea and 
at home. In his last sickness resigned to the will of God. His sickness which 
was malignant fever, terminated in his death after five days of great distress,, 
which he bore with patience and Christian fortitude. Ch. member. 

April 3, Anthony Snow Esq., of malignant fever. As a husband he was 
tender and affectionate. As a father distinguished for his talent of governing 
his children, tempering indulgence with prudence; as a neighbor he was pleas- 
ant and obliging ; as a magistrate he was a peace-maker ; as a deacon of the 
Church he magnified his office. On the third clay from the time of his confine- 
ment his useful life closed and he came to his grave in full age, like a shock of 
corn cometh in his season, aged 71 years. 



RE V. JUDE DAMON. 303 

1824, April 21. Nathaniel Treat aged JJ. Alas for Fame! 
Seven words only to the Truro astronomer. Mr. Treat was a 
man of eccentricities, but he was an astronomer ; he did not 
love to work, but he was an astronomer ; he was not particularly 
a religious man, but he was an astronomer. " Lo ! I've lit the 
lamp which lights us to the skies." To him the heavens 
declared the glory of God and his firmament showed his 
handy work. He knew all the stars, and called them by name, 
and was familiar with their motions and orbits. He loved to 
study the geography of the heavens. From the seven pale 
moons of Saturn to the distant nebulae he fanned his astro- 
nomic fire. He pitied, and was annoyed at his neighbors that 
they were so indifferent to the glory and grandeur of the 
heavens. Aunt Achsah, a neighbor, became considerably 
interested in his discourses. A single disciple was as gratify- 
ing to him as was the first disciple to the great Copernicus. 
One of the astronomer's eccentricities was to begin all his 
declarations with " I swear." He used to say, referring to his 
new pupil, " I swear, half the stars might go out of the sky 
and nobody here would know it, if 'twasn't for I and aunt 
Achsah." 

1825, November 1st. Dorcas, wife of Binny Lombard, 
aged nineteen. The youngest person admitted into the church 
since the settlement of J. Damon as the pastor of the church. 
She was distinguished for her humility, meekness, patience 
and resignation to the will of the Lord." Mrs. Lombard 
was the eldest daughter of Deacon Benj. Hinckley. 

I should do great injustice to the honesty and discrimina- 
tions of Mr. Damon, not to mention that his remarks are not 
all eulogistic. He aimed to leave just such a record as the 
departed left in life and character. Mark the careful wording 
of the following! "Apparently a serious and pious woman. 
In her last illness she frequently expressed her desire to be 
with her Redeemer, where she would better praise him for his 
redeeming love. It is hoped she was as really pious as she 
seemed to be." It required courage of no indifferent order to 
make this notice. " He was a very selfish and intriguing 
character, but at the same time was possessed of good abili- 



3 o4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

ties and powers of mind. These were, however, much 
eclipsed by his selfish spirit and avaricious disposition." 

In 1816, the year of the great sickness, or the malignant 
fever, the mortality list reached fifty-two. The lowest was 
ten, in 1789. The average for the forty-two years was less 
than twenty. For the two years ending with 1824, only 
twenty-six deaths, in a population of about eighteen hundred. 
A very large number were lost at sea or died abroad, all of 
whom will be noticed in another place. " One generation 
passeth away and another generation cometh. Let us hear 
the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his 
commandments." 








! o^sf^L 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
1792— THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS — 1882. 

The first Minister. Local Preachers. Circuit Riders. The first Meeting-house. The 
Cradle of Methodism. General Minutes. Historians. Grand Dedication. 1795. 
Jesse Lee. Persecution. Inquisitionists. Bigotry and Humanity. Joseph Snelling. 
A Constellation of Worthies. They marry. Spiritual Developments. Enthusiasm. 
Criticism. Converted to the Core. Qualifications. Men of one Book. 
Preaching without Liberty. Barnard of Batcombe. The College at Seven Ponds. 
Cob and Corn. The Queen of Sheba. An elect Lady. New House of 183 1. List 
of Appointments. Rev. Benjamin Keith. Rev. Thomas Dodge. Rev. Joel Steele. 
The M. E. Church in Truro. First Trustees. New Meeting-house. Remodeled 
1S45. List of Appointments. Great Revival. Millennial Day. Ephraim Doane 
Rich. His Psalter and Arithmetic. The Doncaster Doctor. Stephen Collins. Give 
Lenox a pull. The old Bethel. Father Taylor. The Wellfleet Singer. Clam Bait. 
Leafy Temples. The first Camp Meetings. Preaching up to the Times. John 
Smith. Rev. Daniel Atkins. Rev. Doane R. Atkins. 

WHAT went ye out for to see ? A man clothed in soft 
raiment ? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are 
in kings' houses." Not yet a hundred years have passed 
since the first Methodist minister set foot on Cape Cod. 
There was no heralding his coming. No committee went to 
engage him, or delegation went out to receive him. History 
knows not of his coming. He came, he saw, he conquered. 
Scarcely the scratch of a pen is found till a generation after 
satisfactory traditional evidence of his entree. Just how and 
when Methodism began in Truro we are not told. Rev. Joseph 
Snelling was really the pioneer of Methodism in Province- 
town, Truro and Wellfleet, more than any other man ; though 
his name is not once mentioned in this connection in the 
Minutes, and only for the providential circumstance of writing 
his own life, we never should have known that he ever saw 

305 



3o6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

these places. Mr. Snelling says : " Captain William Humbert, 
a local preacher, while lying windbound in Provincetown Har- 
bor, was the first Methodist minister who ever preached in that 
place." But Snelling is careless of dates and does not tell when 
it was. From local sources, we learn that Captain Humbert 
preached at the house of Captain Samuel Ryder, on the spot 
where the Orthodox Church now stands. A society was soon 
forced, and within two years preparations were made for 
building a church on (now) Bradford street, immediately back 
of the Universalist Church of to-day. 

As the preparations referred to were made in 1795, Hum- 
bert must have preached his first sermon in 1793. There is, 
however, reasonable evidence that there had been Methodist 
preaching before this date, by local preachers. John Kinney, 
who led the twenty-six signers of the Protest of 1795 from 
Provincetown — "That they attended the public worship of 
the Methodist and contributed to their support " — was a local 
preacher ; so was Samuel Adams of Truro, who was an active 
man in the new society. These facts indicate that the seed 
of Methodism had already been planted. From the best 
authority in Truro, we learn that the first meeting-house was 
built in 1794. This is perhaps an earlier date than before 
published, and if sustained, gives to this Church historic pre- 
eminence. Perhaps we shall find that the first churches 
among the Methodists, are like the first crosses among the 
Catholics, several of them. The first reference in the Gen- 
eral Minutes to Cape Cod is, " 1795, George Cannon, Province- 
town." Dr. Stevens says, "Joseph Snelling was the first 
preacher sent forth by the Methodists ; he labored in Truro 
in 1795, and there was no meeting-house in Truro." This 
statement is evidently taken from Snelling's life. Dr. Coggs- 
well, following, I suppose, the Minutes, says, speaking of 
Provincetown in 1795, "The house at length went up; the 
second Methodist Church in New England." 

1795 is the earliest date claimed for Provincetown. We now 
quote Snelling : " About this time I received from the Quar 
terly Conference in Boston, license to exhort. Bro. Hawkins 
and myself were requested to visit Truro and other places on 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODLSTS. 307 

the Cape. We were cordially received by the people. In 
Truro they had no meeting-house. . . . This was the 
greatest work I ever witnessed." By comparison with other 
dates, "about this time" was not earlier than 1795, and the 
very last part of the year ; possibly early in '96, as he says in 
the same chapter on the twenty-eighth of August, 1795," had 
never thought of preaching, and after that, Bro. Hawkins and 
myself held prayer meetings for some time in Maiden." In 
the next chapter, " My first appointment as a preacher was 
at Provincetown," which could not possibly have been earlier 
than '96, as he had already been an exhorter at Truro the 
very last of '95. He says : " I preached on the Sabbath a 
part of the time in Truro ; there, also, the congregations were 
large and the Word ran and was glorified." 

These quotations establish conclusively that Mr. Snelling 
was first in Truro as an exhorter very late in '95 or early in 
'96, and that his first appointment was at Provincetown in '96, 
when he also preached in Truro to large congregations. We 
will next give our history in the light of present understand- 
ing. While the Minutes give "Provincetown, 1796, Robert 
Yallaly," Mr. Snelling does not mention his name, which he 
scarcely could have failed to do had Yallaly been there. 

It was first intended to build in Provincetown, but persecu- 
tion and open hostilities ripened so fast, that it was decided 
to build in Truro for the mutual accommodation of both 
Provincetown and Wellfleet, all assisting in the work. The 
original membership confirms this. Principally among them 
were, John Rich, Richard Seares Rich, Thatcher Rich, Perez 
Bangs, Nathaniel Rich, John Mayo, Zoheth Smith and Elisha 
Rich of Truro ; Uriah Atwood, Thomas Atwood, Eleazer 
Higgins, and Micah Dyer of Wellfleet ; Joseph Atkins and 
Solomon Cook of Provincetown. Jesse Rich, the grandfather 
of Captain Seares Rich, donated the land then covered with oak 
timber, which was cut for the frame. The spot on which the 
first meeting-house stood is now enclosed in the graveyard. 
The boards and shingles were furnished by Provincetown, 
landed from boats under the bank. The labor was all volun- 
teered. Eight dollars spent for nails was all the money used 



3 o8 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



in erecting this honored temple, joyfully dedicated to the praise 
of Almighty God. The accompanying cut which -we have 
secured almost by accident, is believed a good representation 
of the first meeting-house built by the Methodists on Cape 
Cod, and the second in New England. No plastering or 
finish was made. For twenty years the swallows flew in and 
out at pleasure, building their nests on the rough open beams 
and feeding their young during divine services. One narrow 




SECOND METHODIST CHURCH BUILT IN NEW ENGLAND. 

aisle ran through the centre of the house, with about eighteen 
long plank seats on either side, seating altogether less than 
three hundred. It is not known who were the first officers ; 
inferentially, from among the members mentioned. 

It is established history, and about all that is established, 
that the Provincetown meeting-house was built in '95. We 
have shown that Provincetown Methodists assisted in building 
the meeting-house in Truro, and were among the principal 
members. This they would not have done had they a house 
of their own, as the distance was long, the passage made 
mostly in boats, and for other obvious reasons. It is not rea- 
sonable that they built the same year after joining the Truro 
and Wellfleet brethren ; consequently the meeting-house at 
South Truro was built in 1794, if not as some claim, at an 
earlier date. Can the other statements be reconciled, particu- 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODLSTS. 309 

larly with reference to Mr. Snelling's remark, that there was 
no meeting-house in Truro on his first visit ? We have shown 
that published history as referring to Provincetown is 
quite inaccurate and unreliable. As we have seen by the 
Minutes, George Cannon was at Provincetown in '95 with 
Jesse Lee, Presiding Elder. One of the men who carried the 
table to Boston Common, which Jesse Lee" used as a pulpit 
when he preached his first sermon under the Old Elm, was 
Joseph Snelling. He became a member of the first society in 
Boston, a disciple and companion of Lee, and the first from 
the society to enter the ministry. 

Lee first visited the Cape as Presiding Elder according to 
the Minutes, in '95, to which we shall refer. The next year, 
although Robert Yallaly is in the Minutes for Provincetown, 
the inference is that he did not go, or remain ; and Lee know- 
ing Snelling, sent him to Provincetown, of which Truro, 
Wellfieet and other towns were the circuit. This is the reason 
Snelling's name does not appear in '96, but appears for the first 
time in '97, for Sandwich, a new station, also for the Vineyard 
in '98. George Pickering as Presiding Elder afterwards sent 
Snelling to Truro to settle some trouble in the Church occa- 
sioned, he says, by " a certain local preacher residing there ; " 
and that, " I had preached to some of these people about two 
years before ; when that friendship was established between 
us that is not easily broken. They now received me with 
every mark of affection. In the winter season when they were 
all at home, our meeting-house was filled to overflowing. Our 
singing was excellent, for many of them sung with the spirit 
and the understanding also." 

Mr. Snelling wrote his life when an old man, and, as is evi- 
dent, relied entirely upon his memory. He had visited Truro 
at three different times. The town is fourteen miles long, and 
since the beginning of Methodism, preaching has been held in 
different parts of the town. The original Church was in the 
extreme south part. All these features are to be taken into 
consideration ; and if he failed after more than forty years in 
some particulars of statement, it should be no surprise. 

Returning to the record, we find : " George Cannon who 



3io TRURO— CAPE COD. 

was stationed at Provincetown 1795, formed the society that 
year ; a mob destroyed the timber that was landed all fitted 
for building the meeting-house, and tarred and feathered the 
preacher in effigy, and threatened to serve him the same. But 
by keeping guard at night, and keeping their weapons by them 
while at work, in about four months, they erected a chapel, 
with songs of praise." The father of Hon. Nathaniel Atwood 
watched night after night, musket in hand, guarding the 
slowly rising walls of their Jerusalem. 

A town meeting had voted, " That there shall not be a 
Methodist Meeting-house built in this town." Also voted, 
" That any that will not pay the standing Minister's Rate, 
shall have his intrest sesed." 

Jesse Lee says : — 

I went to see the timber destroyed by the mob, and felt astonished at the 
conduct of the people, considering that we live in a free country. However, I 
expect this will be for the good of the little society. 

Persecution seems to have had the usual result, and as Lee 
expected ; for in a few years the little society swallowed up 
the other literally, and voted them out of their church, and 
has continued the leading denomination to the present. 

Solomon Cook, whose name was mentioned among the 
members of the original society, was, with others, incorporated 
in 181 1 as the M. E. Society in Provincetown. The same 
year Rev. Samuel Parker, the Congregationalist minister of 
Provincetown, died after a pastorate of thirty-seven years. Mr. 
Stone was the next minister. Mr. Parker was born in Barn- 
stable, 1740 ; ordained 1769. His stone says the first settled 
minister in Provincetown. Although Rev. Jeremiah dishing 
to whom we have already referred in an early chapter, was 
for several years minister, it is not certain that he was regu- 
larly settled. 

Taking into consideration all the circumstances, the oppo- 
sition to the Methodists was a natural result, and the maddest 
of the mob were not without examples abundant, and unques- 
tionably thought they were doing good service. We should 
be slow to condemn religious persecutions. The ablest and 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODLSTS. 311 

least prejudiced historians and moral essayists of modern times, 
assure us that the Spanish Inquisitionists were men of unsul- 
lied morals, noble feelings, and really great kindness at heart ; 
but they were religious bigots and blinded by superstitious 
zeal. These same Spanish bigots with humane kindness 
saved from slavery the American Indians whom the Pilgrims 
and Puritans ordered sold in the markets of Europe. A few 
hundred years before, a learned Jew, a Pharisee of the Phari- 
sees, persecuted the Christian Church, binding and delivering 
to prison both men and women, and held the raiment of the 
first Christian martyr while he was stoned to death. " He 
that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone." 

From the fact that Truro was known in the Minutes, and that 
a meeting-house was built at Provincetown in '95, it has 
always been understood as the first. The following are all 
the General Minutes referring to the Cape for many years : 
" '95, Provincetown, George Cannon ; '96, Robert Yallaly ; '97, 
Jacob Rickham ; '98, Smith Weeks ; '99, William Beauchamp ; 
1800, John Merrick ; '01, Solomon Langdon ; '02, Edward 
Whittle; '03, Allen H. Cobb; '04, Alfred Metcalf ; '05, 
Philip Munger ; '06, Elijah Willard." 

After 1806, Provincetown drops from the Minutes.and is not 
again mentioned till 1824, when it appears as a regular sta- 
tion. Harwich supersedes Provincetown, as it appears, 1807, 
with Joel Steel. Jesse Lee was Presiding Elder, 1795-97; 
George Pickering, '98, and with exception of 1801-02, till the 
change to Harwich. These were the master builders of 
Methodism on the Cape. 

The first mention of Truro is, " 181 1, Wellfleet and Truro, 
Joseph A. Merrill." " 18 12, Wellfleet and Truro, Robert 
Arnold." Truro is not again mentioned till " 1827, Warren 
Wilbur," who was the first stationed preacher at the new 
Church and Society at the centre. So the history of Metho- 
dism in Truro, where the first society was formed.and the first 
meeting-house built on the Cape, and the second in New Eng- 
land where the altar fires burned for more than thirty years, 
which turned the community upside down religiously, and 
was a home for her ministers, is mentioned twice most casu- 



3 i2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

ally in the General Minutes. This is not even a skeleton. 
Professor Agassiz given a bone, could construct the perfect 
fish. Perfect history needs more than a bone. This is a case 
in hand of the poverty of the early records. After 18 12, Well- 
fleet became a separate station. "181 3, Elias Marble ; 18 14, 
Bartholomew Otherman ; 18 15, Thomas C. Pierce ; 18 16, Orin 
Roberts ; 181 7, Benj. Keith (the first mention of his name) ; 
1818-19 Ephraim Wiley; 1820-21, Edward Hide." Lorenzo 
Dow was often on the Cape, and popular there, though I do 
not find his name. Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker, now of Port 
Antonia, Jamaica, bears his name. Joel Steele also preached 
in Wellfleet during this time. We have mentioned all these 
names as they were among the Circuit Riders who preached 
and kept the fire constantly flaming at the old Church in 
Truro, which never had a stationed minister. The same may 
be said of Provincetown from 1 807-1 824. Not a few of 
the preachers married on the Cape during this time. I 
have the following : Edward Whittle, Elizabeth, a sister 
of Captain Eleazer Higgins ; Elijah Willard, Thankful, one of 
the ten sisters, a daughter of Deacon Thomas Gross ; Bartho- 
lomew Otherman, Mrs. Mary Gross Cartwright, another daugh- 
ter of Deacon Gross ; Joel Steel, Jerusha, daughter of Captain 
Eleazer Higgins ; Benjamin Keith, Delia, daughter of Captain 
Thomas Atwood ; all of Wellfleet ; Epaphras Kibby, Miss 
Cook of Provincetown. I presume others from these three 
towns. 

The closing years of the last century and the first thirty 
of the present, covered a remarkable period in ecclesiastical 
history, both in this country and in England. The his- 
tory of this crude little chapel in the oak glades of Truro, 
embraced these years, and was wonderful in religious life and 
spiritual development. From the first, it was filled to over- 
flowing. Leagues shrink to miles, and miles to furlongs, 
where love or religious zeal leads. So these enthusiastic 
Christians came from Provincetown on the north at least 
twelve miles, and from Wellfleet and North Eastham on the 
south, an equal distance, to worship together in the beauty of 
holiness. 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODLSTS. 313 

People who lived three and four miles away, especially during 
" Four-days Meetings," would attend three services a day, 
walking back and forth. How the songs and the shouts and 
the happy aniens testified these joyful meetings ! That some 
of these demonstrations were caused by extreme religious 
excitement, and were broadly open to criticism, there is much! 
reason to believe. Chaff and wheat are cast together upon 
the threshing floor. Making, however, the largest allowance 
for temperaments, education and all other extraneous circum- 
stances, a more powerful wave of religious fire never swept a 
community. Such a victory for Christian truth, and deep, 
intensified piety, rarely blesses the world. In the struggle, 
the noblest liberty of conscience and the best qualities of 
manliness were realized. The majority were converted head 
and heart, and have either died at their posts, or remain the 
salt of the churches to this day. 

It is as plain as any providential doctrine, that the pioneer 
Methodist ministers, like all men raised up to fill providential 
places, were providentially qualified for the work they had to 
do. It required men of extraordinary courage and self reli- 
ance ; and only men who felt called of God and thrust out, 
would turn their backs upon the world, and make the sacri- 
fice to enter these ranks. It required everything, it offered 
nothing as the world counts ; but men came, and the work 
went on. 

It cannot be denied that they were somewhat ignorant of 
books and schools, but the book that contained their divine 
commission, was learned and conned by note. The injunc- 
tion, " Beware of the man of one book," was never more 
forcibly applied than to the early ministers of the Church of 
Wesley. Many a valiant knight, with more courage than 
discretion, felt the full measure of their well-poised lance, and 
withdrew crestfallen from the self-sought conflict. That such 
men were peculiar and eccentric — even sometimes enjoying 
and perpetrating a joke — surprising their congregations by 
some unexpected turn, is a part of their history. 

One morning service at the old church, when Mr. had 

been preaching as he thought without his usual liberty, he 



3 i4 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

surprised his congregation by saying, " Brethren, your stove- 
pipe is so confounded crooked that I can't preach a straight 
sermon." The words had hardly fallen from his lips when 
one of the brethren replied, " Sir, it shall be straightened so 
that you can preach a straight sermon this afternoon." It 
was done, and a powerful sermon that went straight to many 
hearts followed. 

A certain minister, who had some unpleasantness with the 
church, took as his text, "The world, the flesh, and the devil,'' 
and said, " I shall touch lightly upon the world, hasten to the 
flesh, and pass on to the devil, when I will give it to you hot 
as you can sup it." 

In those days young men left the farm, the forge, and the 
shoebench with no other preparation than the gift of the Holy 
Ghost, and a sublime faith in the word of promise to save 
souls. The Cape was a choice field to exercise their new-born 
zeal, and to grow in knowledge and grace. The people were 
ready to hear. Under the Pilgrim ashes lay the live coals of 
the old Scrooby Church, first touched by Richard Barnard, 
" Barnard of Batcombe," the Puritan of Epworth. Now came 
the disciples of Wesley of Epworth, like a flame to the buried 
coals, and a mighty fire was kindled that illuminated the Cape. 

My grandfather's house near the Seven Ponds, was a home 
for the fresh-levied soldiers. One who became a valiant war- 
rior, and a Doctor of Divinity, used to read his hymns over 
several times before some one of the girls for correction, pre- 
paratory to the service. One night when my grandmother was 
preparing supper, a young minister sat by the open fire. He 
had just preached an able sermon, and was trying to draw her 
out about it. She quietly remarked, " Your text was the 

same that Brother preached from the last time he was 

here." A great fire was roaring up the chimney, and the tea- 
kettle hung steaming at the end of the crane. The young 
minister mused a moment with a discomfitted countenance, 
and turning to my grandmother said, " I think I will try and 
crawl up that teakettle nose, if you will help me ! " 

One of the most respectable families in this part of the 
town is Cobb — a good Old Colony name of more than two 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 3.5 

hundred years' standing. But kinks happen in the best of 
families as well as accidents. One of this patronymic unfor- 
tunately gave offence to the preacher, who left on the church 
records abreast the name in a strong hand, " Cobb, dis- 
missed ; too cobby ; all cob and no corn." 

One of the members had a proclivity to cut wood on a lot 
joining his own, belonging to a woman of the same church. 
After several trespasses, she sent for the offender to come and 
see her, and said to him, '"I have heard of your cutting my 
wood. If you will pay me the value and do so no more, I will 
say no more about it ; but if not I must prosecute." The old 
gentleman knowing her love for discussing Scripture, replied, 
" What do you think of the Queen of Sheba ?" A long argu- 
ment was the result, and when they had finished the Queen of 
Sheba, the wood was forgotten. The Methodists in those 
days were zealous, enthusiastic, and self-sacrificing ; no labor 
or self-denial was counted too much for the cause. It is 
related that the minister having a meeting to attend at a dis- 
tant part of the town, on the way called at the house of an 
elect lady. He found her making for herself a pair of thick 
calf-skin shoes. The oak and pine logs were crackling in the 
huge fireplace, the baby sleeping in the cradle. A foot or 
more of fresh-fallen snow lay on the ground. The place for 
the meeting was two miles away, through the woods. Said 
this primitive example of Christianity in earnest, to the minis- 
ter, " Wait till I finish this shoe, when I will get dinner, put 
on my new shoes, take the baby on my arm and go along 
with you," all which she did, taking besides the hatchet in her 
hand, to cut away the brush or trees that might have fallen in 
the way. When at the meeting she exhorted with power and 
eloquence. 

This little building continued to be the only one of the 
denomination in town till 1822, when the first parish society 
was organized at the Centre. As the Wellfleet part of the 
society had long before withdrawn to their own new church, 
the old society now small and the building poor, many of 
the members united with the new parish, and worshipped 
there. It was not. however, sitting under their own vine and 



3 1 6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

fig-tree. They earnestly desired their old ways. The next 
few years being prosperous, they determined to build on the 
old spot. Their new society was organized as the South Truro 
M. E. Church, April 29, 1829. A commodious and convenient 
house for the times, was dedicated December 15, 1831. Rev. 
Benjamin F. Lambord, Presiding Elder, preached the dedica- 
tory sermon. 

I have known many instances of great personal sacrifices 
made for religious worship, but none that will compare with 
the determined zeal and positive liberality that marked build- 
ing and paying for this plain, cheerful house of God. 

A gentleman stated that the first hundred dollars he earned, 
and all he had, he gave. He mentioned another who was 
just twenty-one, and without a dollar, who pledged one hun- 
dred dollars, and paid it out of his first schools of fish. It is 
gratifying to state that neither of these men has ever been 
pushed for want of a hundred dollars. 

Rev. Benjamin Keith was very active and useful in this 
Church and aided greatly by his influence to the completion 
of the work. Mr. Keith was born in Vermont ; was many 
years an itinerant minister. When ill health compelled him 
to locate, he made Truro his home, but continued to preach as 
his strength would allow, sometimes supplying the pulpit 
for a year, and always laboring successfully at Four-Days 
Meeting, and on all special occasions. A modest marble mon- 
ument in the graveyard, perhaps on the very site of the orig- 
inal meeting-house, marks the grave of the faithful minister 
and his wife. 

Sacred 

To the memory 

of the 

Rev. Benjamin Keith 

who died 

Feb. 11, 1834, 

M 45 yrs. 

I saw the faithful herald fall, 
I saw him burst his prison wall, 
I traced him when he took his flight 
To dwell among the saints of light. 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 



3 l 7 



Mrs. Deliverance 

wife of 

Rev. Benjamin Keith 

died 

June 7, 1835, 

JE 37 years. 



In 185 1, when the town was at the height of its prosperity, 
the society had outgrown their house of 183 1, and the present 




M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH TRURO. 

graceful and attractive building most eligibly situated west- 
ward of the old site, was built. The old burying-ground is 
used by the society. 

The following is a correct list since the organization of this 
society in 1831. 

1832 Benjamin Keith: 1833 ["oseph B. Brown; [834-37, supplied by Thomas 

Dodge a local preacher, who had been a sea captain. Afterwards followed that 
profession, making his home in Chatham. In 1861, was a member of the Legis- 
lature, and brought down the house by shouting Amen! at the close of Andrew's 
famous speech (that made him Governor) on the duty of Massachusetts. When 
Dodge shouted amen, it was no uncertain sound. lie could make more noise 
in the pulpit with less religion, and spoil more Bibles than any man I have ever 
heard; 1839-40, Joel Steele; 1 841, James Bignall; 1S4J-44, Henrv H. Smith; 
1845, Lozian Pierce; 1846-47, William Leonard, now .1 Congregational minister 



3'8 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



in South Wellfleet ; 184S-49, Adin H. Newton, now practising medicine in 
Provincetown ; 1850, Ira M. Bidwell; 1851, Anthony Palmer ; 1852-53, William 
Keller; 1854-55, William Leonard; 1856-57, F. A. Loomis ; 1857-59, Josiah C. 
Allen; i860, A. Lathan ; 1861, S. B. Chase; 1S62-63, George S. Alexander; 
1864-65, E. M. Anthony; 1866, supplied by Mr. Bowditch or S. Aver; 1867-69 
B. L. Sayer; 1S70-75, supplied by S. Wetherbee, Miller, and Macomber ; 1876 
supplied by Butler ; married while here, Miss Stocker ; Since 1876 Truro and 
South Truro have been united under the same appointment, each society having 
one preaching service every Sabbath; 1876-78, Virgil W. Matoon; 1879, Charles 
N. Hinckley ; 1S80-82, John S. Fish. 

Truro, January 25, 1826, at a quarterly meeting of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in the town of Truro, voted to build a meeting-house. Made choice of 
the following members as trustees for the said house : 

John Smith. President. Michael Collins. Secretary. 

Samuel Coan, Samuel Small, 

Zoheth Smith, Ebenezer L. Davis, 

John Rich, Joel Atwood, 

Cornelius Hamblin of Wellfleet. 
Voted, that Captain Michael Collins and Ebenezer L. Davis be a Building 
Committee. 




1826 — MEETING-HOUSE OF THE M. E. CHURCH, TRURO — 1882. 

A plain barn-like building, the rule for Methodist meeting- 
houses of that time, about forty feet square, with two tiers of 
windows like the port-holes of a ship of the line, stiff galleries 
on three sides, and a two-story pulpit with red doors, was 
finished within the year. Unfortunately for architecture, this 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 319 

house was entirely remodelled in about 1845 ! a ^ ew years 
ago was again modernized, and is now a neat and quite 
tasty little chapel, kept with all its appointments in excellent 
condition. 

For many years, and at a time when the history of the M. 
E. Church was important, no general form for records was fur- 
nished. The Parish Meetings were usually well recorded, but 
nothing general. For more than fifty years of this Church 
history, the name of the preacher in charge is rarely found. 
From other sources, I have been enabled to gather a list of 
the appointments, which I trust will be found correct. 

1827, Warren Wilbur; 1828, Benjamin Keith; 1829, Abrara Hoi way; 1830-1, 
William R. Stone; 1832-3, William Ramsdell; 1834-5, Enoch Bradley; 
1836-7, Thomas W. Gile ; 1838-9, J. R. Barstow; 1840, Levi Woods ; 1841-2, 
Reuben Bowen; 1843, Thomas Patten; 1844-5, Charles A. Carter; 1846, Henry 
Mayo; 1847-8, Samuel Beedle ; 1849, Onesiphorus Robbins ; 1850, Theophilus 
B. Gurney; 1851-2, Thomas D. Blake; 1853, Edward B. Hinckley; iS 54, Lewis 
E. Dunham; 1855-6, John W. Willett; 1857, William E. Sheldon; 1858-9, 
Nathan P. Selee ; 1860-1-2, James B. Washburn ; 1863, Lawton Cady ; 1864, 
Adin H. Newton ; 1865, Joseph Gerry ; 1866, Hefflin S. Smith ; 1867-8, Jason 
Gill; 1869, (Unsupplied) ; ^o, Isaac ^G. Price; 187 1-2-3, Isaac Sherman; 
1874-5, Richard Burn; 1876-7-8, Virgil W. Mattoon; 1879, Charles N. 
Hinckley; 1880-3, J ohn s - Fish - 

Many of the above names and of the other list, were noble, 
Christian men of talent and power, deserving of especial 
notice. 

In 1 82 1, the " Great Revival " in Truro and Wellfleet under 
Edward Hyde, Frederick Upham and others, took place. It 
was a Pentecostal year. Then was fulfilled that prophecy of 
the millennial day, " When no man shall say to his neighbor 
know ye the Lord, for all shall know him from the least to 
the greatest." It was said that on Bound Brook Island, then 
quite a populous district, not a man or woman was left profes- 
sedly unconverted. Over four hundred made a profession of 
religion, two hundred and thirty-six joined the Methodist 
Church. Among so large a number, many of whom were 
men past middle age, of varied experience and keen observa- 
tion, it would not be surprising to find some of rare character 



320 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



and ability, who had been educated by the world, and had 
acquired habits of thought and independence. When the love 
of Christ blossomed out in their lives, they were too old and 
biased to lean to any set forms ; they were still marked by the 
original angles and sinuosities of all strong characters. Early 
Methodism intensified natural powers and offered occupation 
in her own channels. Her charms of natural fitness and ready 
adaptation were strong factors in these agencies. Scores in 
this connection are worthy to be named ; space forbids, but 
the history we narrate would be glaringly deficient without 
a few cases to illustrate the power of religion upon the human 
heart. 

A representative man in this list was Ephraim Doane Rich, 
a local preacher, who was licensed by Presiding Elder Webb in 
1830, when about fifty years of age. A man who was violently 
prejudiced against Methodist preachers ; who had never heard 
and would not hear them preach; when he understood that 
Mr. Rich was to preach on, a certain occasion, was so surprised 
that he determined to hear what such a man could say in the 
pulpit. The text was, "When Israel was a child," etc. 

This man declared to his dying day, that a better sermon 
he never heard. To reason logically and draw forcible 
inductions, seemed as natural to this born preacher as to 
breathe. Much prominence was given in those days to 
exhortations. The exhorter, now in the dim background, and 
fast fading from sight, was a figure distinct and inseparable, 
both male and female, in early Methodism. Undoubtedly, it 
was one of the great sources of her power and success. In 
comparison with the Church of to-day, it is surprising how 
many men and women could give powerful and effective 
exhortations. Mr. Rich was a powerful exhorter. He would 
stand against the rail of the little altar, with one hand in his 
pocket, and with the other force home his rugged reasoning, 
and vivid personal experience, with an energy and eloquence 
that swept like a torrent. I heard him say, when referring to 
his early advantages, that his entire school books consisted 
of psalter and arithmetic. The Christian religion is a living 
miracle, and the highest development of spiritual power. 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 32 r 

I his, added to the psalter and arithmetic and native talent, 
produced such a man as Ephraim Doane Rich. Sometimes 
when wrought upon with his theme, his heart on fire, his face 
aglow, his tall form bent, his long arm outstretched, his 
impetuous utterance, fairly breaking through his pent-up 
prison-house, the Spirit rested like cloven tongues upon the 
audience. I see nothing gained, nothing in the realm of 
science or of learning to make the world wiser or better, to 
deny this spiritual power and call it excitement, enthusiasm 
or superstition. Sometimes the question is asked, What 
would education have clone for such a man ? Perhaps, as 
Southey says of the Doncaster doctor, " They might have 
been much less worthy of being remembered. Society in 
rubbing off the singularities of his character, would just in the 
same degree have taken from its strength." 

Stephen Collins was also a layman of mark in the Church 
fifty years ago. In early life he was master of a vessel, and 
had seen something of the world. Coming into possession 
of the old Collins homestead, with abundant acres of wood 
and farm lands, and what he delighted to call "intervale," he 
commenced the career of a Cape Cod farmer in middle life. 
At the same time he experienced religion and joined the M. 
E. Church, where he found a broad field for his talents. The 
genius and flexibility of the Methodist economy seemed con- 
genial to his spirit. The religious exercises of his mind 
required great scope and freedom. His soul basked in the 
sunshine of all the privileges of God's people. His experience 
was deep and thorough. He loved the Church, but his chart 
and compass was the Bible ; by it he kept a daily reckoning 
and could give his Christian latitude and longitude every 
moment, night or day. He loved the songs of Zion. Lenox 
was his favorite : he was the author of Give Lenox a pull. 
He was naturally careless and somewhat sluggish •; quaint in 
language and expressive in gesture ; yet when engaged, his 
exhortations were full of fire and marvellous with the ready 
flow of Scripture texts. His pungent logic carried conviction 
to the mind, his inimitable eloquence melted the heart, and 
his oratory swayed mind and heart with irresistible unction. 



322 TRURO— c-APE COD. 

It was a common remark by the preachers, that they would 
prefer to hear Stephen Collins or Ephraim Doane Rich, in 
their exegesis and criticisms on a text of Scripture, than any 
minister they had heard. Their exegesis was not of books or 
of a learned clergy, but as of old, when the spirit enlightened 
and gave utterance. Their extemporizing was naturally elo- 
quent, though rude and unfinished ; but their logic was incon- 
trovertible. We have not introduced these names because 
better men than scores of others, but because of their marked 
personality and religious fervor. A father in Israel and a 
strong pillar in the Church was Captain Ebenezer L. Davis. 
His conversion was quite late in life, but the work was com- 
plete. No man loved the Church better or blossomed more 
with Christian graces. In a tender, trembling, but earnest 
voice he loved to tell what religion had done for him and per- 
suade others to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 

JOHN SMITH. 

The perfect man is an ideal man. Such, I fancy, visit not 
the glimpses of this planet ; but noble, generous, high- 
minded, well-poised men, we have all seen : such whom to 
know was to love. I have found them in poverty and in 
wealth, in position and in obscurity, honored and neglected, 
always noble, generous, highminded. Wealth and position 
augment the possibilities of greatness, but do not create 
them. In fact, I have known many quite useful lives that 
have been ruined — some by the pursuit, and some by the 
possession of wealth. As a standard, nothing so much misses 
the mark. 

After an active business experience of forty years with men 
representing a wide margin of birth, education and employ- 
ments, the man that stands before me as the best representa- 
tive of complete manhood is John Smith, whose portrait we 
are glad to place in this history, and in connection with the 
Church which he loved and honored. The cheerful, animated 
countenance, and the flashing eye which the artist remarked 
was of rare charm, have passed away. But none can look upon 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 325 

that face without feeling — that was a man ! He was raised 
in a narrow home, with limited advantages, but under the 
best of family discipline. He was the son of Zoheth and 
Mary (Mayo) Smith, born October 3, 1794; died at Melrose, 
November 12, 1873 ; married Sarah Atkins December, 1819; 
born December 13, 1799; died April 5, 1879. A capable and 
faithful wife who looked well after her household. 

Mr. Smith was early in life an active skipper ; many years a 
schoolmaster ; among the first who commenced the outfitting 
business in Truro; was public-spirited, and forward in all town 
business ; twice elected to the Legislature ; was president of 
the board of trustees that voted (1826) " To build a meeting- 
house," and sustained and encouraged the Church under over- 
whelming discouragements. In the orbit of a Christian, he 
shone with a bright and unchanging lustre. His was no long- 
faced, self-righteous religion — if such there is — but full of sun- 
shine and strong manly glow. " 'Twas love that drove his 
chariot wheels." He exhorted tenderly, eloquently and per- 
suasively ; sang sweetly, and prayed in the spirit of Christ his 
master. The light of a cheerful Christian, of a broad, noble 
manhood, of a gentle and refined nature, was in the atmos- 
phere of his life ; peace and victory in his death. 

Of six sons and two daughters, John W., Rufus and 
Winslow, engaged in business at Boston, died of consumption ; 
James Rich was lost in the October gale of '41. Zoheth 
and James R. are at San Francisco. Sarah Ellen is the 
wife of Captain Jeremiah Paine of Brooklyn, New York. 
Mehitable is the widow of Captain Elisha Cobb late of 
Melrose. 

The younger brothers of Mr. Smith, James and Joshua, 
men of superior character and worth, died of consumption 
before reaching the meridian of life. Noah was lost in the 
October gale of '41, and Hope we have referred to as the wife 
of Daniel Clark. Of quite large families, six only remain ; all 
the rest have died from consumption. 

Captain Thomas Smith, who became quite a prominent 
Methodist preacher in Maine, came from these ranks. Quite 
late in life, while on a visit to his old home, he supplied 



326 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

the pulpit a few months. His name will be found in the 
list. Like many other faithful ministers of that time, he 
clouded his setting sun by embracing the doctrine of 
Adventism. 

A large proportion of the Cape families were excellent 
singers. This was perhaps especially true of Wellfleet and 
Truro. Like many things that are a law unto themselves, 
and many of the ways of singers, past finding out, this 
enviable gift seemed to gravitate toward the Methodist wing. 
John Wesley advised his people to sing lustily ; this they ful- 
filled to the letter. Enthusiasm cannot be bottled up. How 
it spread among the weavers of Yorkshire, and the miners 
and fishermen of Cornwall, are matters of history ; how it 
spread up and down the Cape is yet fresh in the memory 
of the living. 

I love to make an annual pilgrimage to Father Taylor's 
Bethel ; I love the time-hallowed associations of the old sanctu- 
ary ; I love to call up the bethel of the past, with its expect- 
ant throng, and the hard face, but tender voice of the old 
demigod, balancing the fate of his fascinated listeners. 
During my last visit the organist was absent, and my atten- 
tion was drawn to the leader of the singing. The tune was 
an old standard, well adapted to his deep-toned voice, and 
evidently in harmony with his emotional and spiritual nature. 
He was sturdy, broad-chested, bronzed-faced, and his voice 
a whole choir, including the organ : a grand diapason. He 
sang all over. Every muscle and fibre of his flexible form 
beat time. I looked in admiration at his glowing face, and 
wondered how one man could sing so much. His enthusiasm, 
powerful lungs, and slight nasal accent, carried me back more 
than forty years. I was no longer in the Bethel, but in the 
plain, white-walled meeting-house on the hill-tops of Cape Cod. 
After service, I inquired who was the man that led the sing- 
ing. "Oh!" said my friend, "that is Brother , just 

come from Wellfleet." He was a type of the singers of 
fifty to sixty years ago on the Cape. 

Many years ago Reuben Rich, and John Mayo the French 
prisoner of 1811, went to Provincetown with a boatload of 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 327 

clambait. Finding a poor market, they concluded to remain 
all night. This being before there were houses of entertain- 
ment in Provincetown, they tried several private houses ; for 
various domestic reasons, none could accommodate them, so 
they made up their minds to lodge in their boat, but thought 
they would first attend the prayer-meeting. Both were fine 
singers. As the singing dragged, they modestly came to the 
rescue, and quite surprised the audience with their sweet 
full notes. After the meeting closed, they were requested to 
sing a few favorite pieces. Instead of having to sleep in an 
open boat, they had a score of invitations ; were abundantly 
lodged and breakfasted, and in the morning, sold the balance 
of their clams to a good market. 

THE LEAFY TEMPLES. 

About the first, if not the very first camp-meetings in New 
England, were held on the Cape. The first was in South 
Wellfleet, in 18 19, and continued the next three years. From 
1823 to 1825, they were holden on Bound Brook Island. The 
next year, 1826, the tents were pitched in Truro, a short 
distance south of the bridge on the hill, where now stands the 
house built by Joshua Smith in 1832, when it was 
surrounded by a beautiful grove of tall oak-trees ; some of 
them had to be cut down to make room for the house ; others 
were left so near that the wind-swung boughs disturbed the 
sleepers. For many years the plain, whitewashed house 
peering out from the deep foliage, was a pleasant sight. 
It was to the camp-meeting in Truro that Drew referred : — 

We saw great gatherings in a grove, 

A grove near Pamet Bay, 
Where thousands heard the preached word, 

And dozens knelt to pray. 

The next annual gathering was at Eastham, where they 
were continued till the Old Colony railroad ran down to Yar- 
mouth in 1863, when the time-honored, consecrated spot was 
abandoned, and the present grove purchased. These more 



328 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

than thirty years of camp-meetings at Eastham have a glo- 
rious record. Men of power and deep religious experience 
made these green arches tremble with their eloquence. These 
were the days when the people called Methodists held to the 
simplicity of the Cross ; when the camp-meeting at Eastham 
was distinguished by great, promiscuous gatherings and re- 
markable conversions ; when men and women who came to 
revile, returned wrought with a Divine influence, and became 
life-long Christians. The Eastham Camp-meeting Grove 
Association was incorporated in 1838. The property is still 
held by the Corporation. 

REV. DANIEL ATKINS. 

Christ said to the fishermen of Galilee : " Follow me, and I 
will make you fishers of men. And straightway they forsook 
their nets and followed him." In the early history of the 
town, several instances are mentioned of men who entered 
the ministry, but during the present century few have directly 
turned their hands to the Gospel net. Rev. Daniel, the sub- 
ject of this sketch and engraving, is the son of Paul and 
Keziah (Paine) Atkins, born August 16, 1824, the eldest of 
eight sons and one daughter. His grandfather was Barnabas 
Paine, reaching to a long line of deacons, ministers and 
doctors. At twenty-one, he left fishing and entered an 
apprentice at boat-building at Newport, R. I. At twenty- 
three, he commenced business in Gloucester; January, 185 1, 
was licensed to preach by Amos Binney, Presiding Elder, and 
the following April was appointed to the M. E. Church in 
Wales ; received a member of the New England Confer- 
ence April, 1852 ; ordained deacon by Bishop Baker, 
1854, and elder, 1856, by Bishop Janes After Wales, his 
appointments have been : Palmer and South Belchertown, '53 ; 
Leicester, '54-5; Warren, '56-7; Dudley, '58-9; North 
Brookfield, '6o-i ; Millbury, '62-3 ; Oakdale, '64-5 ; New- 
bury port, Purchase St., '66; South Reading, '67-9; East 
Douglas, '70-2 ; Gardner, '73-4 ; Spencer, '75-7 ; Towns- 
end, '78-80; East Pepperell, '81-2. 




REV. DANIEL ATKINS. 



THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 



33* 



He resigned a prosperous business, and entered the minis- 
try from the highest conscientious motives. To preach Christ, 
to be a Christian minister, was his single purpose. From his 
first appointment, he has gone steadily forward in the work 
committed to his trust, making no false step, turning neither 
to the right nor left, preaching the Word as one to whom was 
committed the oracles of God. If a successful ministry means 
to increase religious interest and deep Christian fellowship, to 
build anew, pay old and new debts, generally to strengthen 
and improve the Church temporalities and spiritualities, his 
ministry has been abundant in success, and few have less 
occasion to question their call of the Lord. 

Mr. Atkins has been twice married: In 1848 to Caroline 
M. Thurston of Newport, whose death occurred March 11, 
1854. Children by this marriage, William Paul, now a printer 
in Boston ; Benjamin Paine, died aged twelve ; Daniel Thurs- 
ton died in infancy. January, 1855, to Nancy J. Shaw, of 
Wales. 

A younger brother, Doane R., graduated at Yale, studied 
divinity at Andover, is pastor of the Congregational Church 
at Custer City, Dakota. He is well qualified for the broad 
and promising field to which he has consecrated his youth 
and talents. 




CHAPTER XIX. 
HOW THEY LIVED. 

Modern Improvements. Middlemarch. Scientific Activity. Victor Hugo. An honest 
Purpose. Pilgrim Habits. Kathrina. Charles I. Mr. Winslow and the Royal 
Charter. Blackstone. English Homes. Truro, Eng. Fashionable Gentlemen. 
Fashionable Ladies. Kitty Trevylyn. Old Grimes. Homespun. Labrador Tea. 
Lora Standish. Needlework. Live Geese. High Beds. Old Houses. The Sun- 
dial. The Kitchen. Geraldine. Gervase Markham. Tusser, the English Botanist. 
Fireplace Equipments. Jack-of-all-trades. Pewter Ware. Bean Porridge. The 
Punch-Bowl. Temperance Reform. Trenchers. Mortar and Pestle. Spider Cakes 
philosophically considered. Faculty. Well-fed. Sunday Dining. Resources. 
Herbert Spencer. Pumpkin Pie. Old Orchards. High-top Sweetings. Atlantic 
Apples. Old Pear-tree Tradition. The Old Colony Club. Daniel Webster. Home 
The highest Honor. Contentment. Brother Joe. 

THE comforts, conveniences and improvements of modern 
living have been so often reiterated, and held in such 
strong contrast with the past, and the question is so often 
asked, How they lived ? that even the survival of the fittest 
seems little less than a Divine interposition. That nearly 
everybody lived, and, what is of infinite importance to this 
argument, raised large, healthy, full-grown families that did 
likewise under that exhaustive system, was not an accident. 

Looking at the mother, you might hope that the daughter would become like 
her, which is a prospective advantage equal to a dowry. — Middlemarch. 

That the present generations are the opposite extreme in the 
points enumerated cannot favor the comforts, conveniences 
and improvements of modern living. 

Scientific activity has contributed chiefly to this advance- 
ment. Principally among these may be mentioned the use 

332 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 333 

of stoves, coal, gas and water-pipes, by which houses are 
heated, lighted and supplied with hot and cold water. Also 
friction matches, better and warmer clothing and richer food. 
Yet many people are banishing these now common modes of 
life and returning to the wood fire, blazing and crackling on 
'the open hearth; the circulation of the open chimney, the 
cheerful lamp on the centre-table, water where there shall be 
no extra risk of drowning in the fourth story, and otherwise 
showing a modified appreciation of old ways. It has become 
almost fashionable to express admiration for most everything 
old. Victor Hugo says in Notre Dame, " Fashion has done 
more mischief than revolution," which is saying a good deal 
where revolutions are the fashion. Old garrets, worm-eaten 
chests, lumber-rooms and country kitchens have been so 
often hunted and ', eproduced and described that I distrust 
my ability to awaken new interest, and hesitate to undertake 
this part of my task. An honest purpose, however, to neglect 
no part of duty, leaves no choice. I shall therefore present 
to the best of my ability, faithful and truthful pictures of Old 
Colony customs and manners. 

Nowhere in New England have the Pilgrim habits been 
preserved with so much purity as on the Cape. Prominent 
among these were industry and economy — twin-sisters of thrift 
and prosperity. These habits were as much inborn in the 
old stock as their bold daring, and stubborn independence. 
Both from principal and interest, the early days of the Colony 
were strictly frugal and simple ; through years of constant 
aggression, more than a flavor of old-time bonhomie remains. 
Cut off as they were from the Mother Country and supplies, 
they soon found the necessity of self-dependence. As neces- 
sity is the mother of invention, their clever hands lay hold 
upon new resources, and soon learned to supply themselves. 



They drove the plough, 
They trafficked, builded, delved, they spun and wove, 
They taught and preached, they hasted up and down, 
Each on his little errand, and their eyes 
Were full of eager fire, as if the earth 
And all its vast concerns were on their hands. — ■ Kathrina. 



334 



TRURO —CAPE COD. 



Many of them were skilful mechanics, having brought their 
implements from the old country. The forge, the loom and 
the shop, were soon active ; and community wants were in a 
great measure supplied by community labors. Every year 
added to their home-supplies and home-comforts, and made 
them more independent, as they desired to be, of England. 
After Charles the First was beheaded, in 1649, Parliament 
meditated a new charter for the Colonies, and authorized the 
Council of State to appoint governors over them. Massachu- 
setts, through her agent, Mr. Winslow of Plymouth, then in 
England, boldly remonstrated and pleaded the Royal Charter, 
which permitted them to have a governor and magistrates of 
their own choice, and laws of their own making, if not repug- 
nant to those of England. Mr. Winslow said they had 
emigrated, settled, and maintained the colony without cost to 
the Parent State ; they were able enough to have lived in 
England, and had removed to a wilderness to escape eccle- 
siastical persecution. Blackstone, who built the first house 
in Boston, said he left England to escape the arbitrary con- 
duct of the Lords Bishops, and left Boston to escape the 
rigid discipline of the Lords Brethren. 

Quite intimate relations and friendships with men and 
women from the west of England and the north of Ireland 
led somewhat to an understanding of the social life in these 
parts of the kingdom. It was a grateful surprise to recognize 
so many home habits, home virtues, and so much home thrift ; 
so much of education and religion among the middle classes. 
Lately a short but gratifying experience among these people, 
a hasty study of their social problem, has fully confirmed 
these impressions, showing the superstructure of English 
homes quite identical with our own. I am grateful for this 
experience. It has opened many sealed fountains of deep sat- 
isfaction, and disabused my mind of many born prejudices. 
I am free to express a deep conviction that what we most 
prize and love in the simple habits and strong virtues of our 
fathers and mothers was not ingrafted. Nearly twenty years 
ago, when living in a Western city, a pleasant family of father, 
mother and daughters, with a cheery little home embowered 



BOW THEY LIVED. 335 

among jessamine and honeysuckle and choice flowers, culti- 
vated with genuine English taste, was always open to a 
friendly call. They were from Truro, England, I from Truro, 
Massachusetts. The old Cornwall town by the great harbor 
of Falmouth, and the Barnstable town by the great harbor of 
Cape Cod, afforded many happy comparisons and delightful 
associations. May these lines fall before them, for days of . 
An Id Lang Syne. 

The old-time habits, strict frugality and independence of the 
first settlers, continued with little change for one hundred 
and fifty years. We might safely say that in the outlying 
portions of New England little change took place till 1800. 
The exceptions to this rule were inconsiderable among the 
common people. Dr. Freeman says : " The last half of the 
eighteenth century witnessed a great change ; the Old World 
fashions became known and even were expressed in these 
quiet domains." In 1747 fashionable gentlemen wore sky- 
blue coats with silver button-holes, and huge cuffs extending 
more than half-way from the middle of the hand to the elbow, 
short breeches reaching to the silver garters at the knee, and 
embroidered waistcoats with long flaps that came almost as 
low. Silver knee-buckles, the three-cornered hat, white-topped 
boots, ruffles, and silk stockings. Sharp-toed shoes were car- 
ried to a great extent ; we should say to the extreme length of 
fashion. Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou, had the toes 
of his shoes two feet in length, to cover a defect in his foot, 
it was said. Complaint was made that the shoes were 
so snouted they could not kneel in the house of worship. 
"Joshua's courting dress at twenty was a full-bottomed wig 
and cocked hat, scarlet coat and small clothes ; white vest, 
silk stockings, shoes with buckles and two watches." The 
above reads like a caricature, but is a correct description of 
the extreme fashion. What upon earth Joshua wanted of 
two watches courting, the chronicler deposeth not. Red-kid 
high-heeled shoes, fifteen-button kid gloves, silk and satin 
dresses, gold beads, hoops, peaked stomachers, modesty bits, 
riding habits and waistcoats trimmed with silver, perukes and 
cocked hats, were the vanities of the women of that day. 



336 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

" Yet, young ladies, they were as gay and giddy in their time 
as you are now; they were as attractive and as lovely; they 
were not less ready than you are to laugh at the fashions that 
had gone before them. They were wooed and won by gentle- 
men in short breeches, long-flapped waistcoats, large cuffs, 
and tie wigs ; and the wooing and winning proceeded much in 
the same manner as before them, and as it will proceed when 
you will be as little thought of by your great-granddaughters, 
as your great -grandmothers are now by you." It must be 
understood that even among the people who accepted these 
indications of wealth and growing conformity to the world, 
these "vanities" were worn only on the Sabbath or on great 
occasions, and were then carefully laid away ; so from year to 
year. 

Kitty Trevylyn, who reflects the habits of English country- 
folk one hundred and fifty years ago, tells how her father put 
on his best coat, twenty years old, to welcome her home 
from London when she returned from her first visit to his 
rich sisters ; and how, when he took it off, her mother folded 
it so carefully in a white cover, and laid it on the shelf in the 
cupboard. Kitty's father' was a retired captain living on a 
scanty pension, near the coast in Cornwall ; he had all the 
pride and dignity of his profession, with the usual contempt 
for tradesmen. His sister Patience had married a rich 
merchant in London. " Father always spoke of his sister 
Henderson as 'Poor Patience,' implying she had lowered 
herself immeasurably by marrying a tradesman. But I find 
that aunt Henderson as commonly speaks of father as ' My 
poor brother.'" 

Among the people on the Cape great simplicity and econ- 
omy were maintained. The old men and young men all had 
a Sunday coat, waistcoat and small-clothes, and a fur hat. 
The old men only had a greatcoat, which lasted an average 
lifetime. The young men never thought of wearing an 
overcoat ; they could wear a full wig, but comfortable great- 
coats were for old men. The men had one pair of well- 
tanned leather boots reaching to the knees. The winter 
every-day rig was homespun flannel breeches and jacket,. 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 337 

long striped waistcoat — like old Grimes', all buttoned down 
before — flannel or woolsey shirt, blue-yarn long stockings, 
such as Doctor Franklin wore at the court of France, and 
heavy leather shoes. Shoe buckles of steel or brass, rarely 
of silver, among the middling people, continued in common use 
till 1800. The eldest boy had for summer a suit of home- 
made everlasting, which, when outgrown, was handed down 
to the next, and so on in infinite digression. The women 
and girls wore on Sunday in winter, homespun flannel, fulled 
and pressed and sheared at the factory. How they smiJed 
and charmed in these Quaker-brown suits, all guiltless of 
tuck or ruffle, frill or flounce, of gimp or ribbon, fringe or 
bow. Do you smile because in another fashion ? Remember 
the old poet : — 

Fashions that are now called new, 
Have been worn by more than you; 
Elder times have used the same, 
Though these new ones get the name. 

A silk gown was more prized than a paid-up life-insurance 
policy of to-day. For the silk dress was for life, with no 
danger of failing. A string of gold beads, or necklace, was 
the crowning glory and ambition of the young woman's toilet. 
They were heir-looms from generation to generation. Many 
such still survive. The more common dress of the women 
was loose gown and petticoat. In this graceful and health- 
ful costume, our mothers and sisters baked and brewed, 
washed and ironed, carded and spun, warped and filled, wove 
and quilted, laughed and sung, and rocked the cradle. They 
touched the spinning-wheel and distaff with deft fingers. 
From the whirring wheels and shining spindle flew warp and 
woof fine as gossamer and firm as threads of steel. A letter 
is published in the Massachusetts Gazateer, March 3, 1768, 
written at Barnstable, which says : " A few days since a 
number of Barnstable ladies paid me a visit, dressed all in 
homespun, even to their handkerchiefs and gloves, and not so 
much as a ribbon on their heads. They were entertained 
with Labrador tea ; all were cheerful and merry. Toward 



33* 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 




THEY TOUCHED THE 



:ning-\vheel and distaff. 



night we had the company of some of the chief gentlemen of 
the town, who all drank Labrador tea." This was in the 
days when the baneful English teas was a question of loyalty. 
Labrador tea — (Ledum lafifoliu?)/) — a small plant that 



HOW THEY LIVED. 339 

grows in or near swampy places, said to be a passable substi- 
tute for genuine tea. 

The pride of these housekeepers culminated in their beds 
and bedding. Fine wool blankets, coverlets of elaborate 
designs, beautifully wrought, quilts in Grecian, mosaic and 
other artistic patterns ; linen sheets bleached white as snow, 
all home-made, and a live-geese feather bed, were the ex- 
pectancies for the trousseau of every fair-to-do young woman. 
Since the days of Lora Standish, fine needlework has been 
an accomplishment of the Old Colony daughters. The needle 
was a talisman, which if it did not always point to the North 
Star, drew many a star in its epicycle. 

Tent-work, raised-work, laid-work, prest-work, net-work, 

Most curious pearl, or rare Italian cut-work. 

Fine fern-stitch, finny-stitch, new-stitch and chain-stitch, 

Brave bed-stitch, fisher-stitch, Irish-stitch and queen-stitch, 

The Spanish-stitch, rosemary-stitch and maw-stitch, 

The smarting whip-stitch, back-stitch and the cross-stitch, 

All these are good, and these we must allow; 

And these are everywhere in practice now. — Taylor the Water Poet. 

Lora Standish's sampler is among the curiosities of Pil- 
grim Hall, with this gentle prayer wrought with her own 
hands : — 

Lora Standish is my name, 
Lord, guide my heart that I may do thy will ; 
Also fill my hands with such convenient skill 
As will conduce to virtue void of shame, 
And I will give the glory to thy name. 

Live-geese feather-beds were an object of considerable emu- 
lation, and moved the social barometer much as would now a 
solid silver service. The frequent visits of the fishermen to 
Belle Isle and Labrador (pronounced by the fishermen Lar- 
badore) afforded excellent opportunity to secure the genuine 
article. The sack that left home filled with straw, returned 
with the downy store, for bed and pillows, the latter called 
pillow bears, and apostrophized by the old people as pille'bers. 
Fifty years ago or less, high beds were as fashionable as now 
the other extreme. The boys used to joke about rigging a 



34o 



TR UR — CAPE COD. 



jury-mast and rattle down the shrouds to climb into bed. 
The first houses were usually built two story in front, with 
long slanting roofs reaching within a few feet of the ground in 
the rear. Later, the rule was one low story still lower in the 
rear, with two liberal -sized front rooms, an immense kitchen, 
with two bedrooms and a buttery, or pantry, on the lower floor, 
and a " square chamber " up-stairs. The construction and gen- 
eral arrangement were substantially the same as in the now 
so well-known, " old-fashioned double house," which Thoreau 
describes as looking so fast anchored to the soil, and which, 
considering the cost and adaptation to the then style of living, 

the comfort for winter and 
summer, was a success, and 
could not be much bettered 
to-day. The cut on this 
page, which was intended for 
a larger size, is perhaps as 
good a specimen of the old- 
fashioned double house as can 
be found in Truro. It was 
built a hundred years ago by 
mv grandfather, Joshua Rich, 
and has had no changes or 
modern innovations for fifty 
years. It is now owned and 
occupied by Leonard P. Rich, and is the easternmost house in 
Longnook Hollow. 

All the houses fronted the south and told twelve o'clock 
meridian with the accuracy of a chronometer. Every window 
was a sun dial, and often the only time-keeper. The front 
of the house was always sunny, and sometime during the day 
the long kitchen was sure to catch the broad sunbeams. The 
two front rooms were usually known as the "east room," 
where the family lived with the sunshine, say from November 
till April or May ; and the west room, known as the " great 
room," which was for guests and especial occasions. The 
spacious kitchens, always fresh and cool, were open to all work 
in summer, and used for storage and common work in winter. 




OLD-FASH TONED DOUBLE HOUSE. 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 341 

How altogether homelike and hospitable were these roomy, 
unrestricted old kitchens ; whitewashed, floor-sanded and 
wide fi replaced. What a sense of long-day comfort floated in 
the air. How a cool current drifting through the open north 
windows, invited a siesta on the old settle or red chest. 

For many* years, the houses as a rule, were innocent of 
paint or paper, and some of plastering, particularly the 
kitchen, though kept light and clean with frequent white- 
washing. The open beams, girders and walls were festooned 
with flowering herbs, stock-bearing seeds, and various home 
products for ornament and use, varying with the season. 
From the roots, herbs, berries, wild flowers, and a little New 
England rum, the mothers could prepare remedies to cure all 
the ills of body and soul. 

weary lady Geraldine, 

1 pray you drink this cordial wine, 
It is a wine of virtuous powers ; 
My mother made it of wild flowers. 

Old Gervase Markham, in his book called the English 
Housewife, containing " The inward and outward virtues 
which ought to be in a complete woman," places her skill 
principally in medicine. Tusser, an English botanist in the 
time of the Tudors, enumerates one hundred and sixty-six 
herbs and plants for the kitchen, for windows and pots, and 
for physic, which he inculcates in rhyme, beginning — 

Good housewives provide ere an sickness do come, 
Of sundry good things in her house to have some. 

Unquestionably there was virtue in many of these things, but 
there was evidently no little superstition, which, however, was 
more harmless and less expensive than the doctor. 

The fire with well-dried logs supplied, 
Went roaring up the chimney wide. 

The fireplaces were the old cord-wood pattern ; wide as that 
into which Froissart's knight threw the donkey with his load 
of fagots. Additional room was also required for one and 



342 



7 R UR O — CAPE COD. 




THE OLD FIREl'IVF. 



sometimes two brick ovens. The fireplace equipments were 
an iron back, sometimes plain, sometimes corrugated, cor- 

nuted or crenulated ; or- 
namented with mediaeval 
dragons, centaurs or apos- 
tolic scenes ; a long crane 
with graduated hooks and 
trammels ; huge strad- 
dling andirons, called in 
the West dogs ; in one 
corner aform, in the other 
a dye-pot, well covered by 
the boys in cold weather ; 
the smoking kial on its 
favorite peg, with shovel 
(slice) and tongs right 
and left, by machicolated 
fender made complete. The last not generally in use. 

Every householder was understood to be a carpenter, 
cabinet-maker and upholsterer — a jack-of-all-trades according 
to necessity. The furniture was simple and inexpensive. 
The oak-framed, well-flagged chairs ranged round the room 
testified to his or the neighbors' handiwork. Perhaps here 
and there an old English arm-chair or table could be found. 
Clocks there were none. From its perch on the high mantel- 
tree, an hour-glass, did service ; occasionally an ancient bull's- 
eye hanging high over the bellows, beat time like a steam 
sledge-hammer. A row of polished iron and brass candlesticks, 
with tray and snuffers, were also on the mantel. Addison 
says, — "The eye of the mistress made the pewter shine." 

Pewter or block-tin ware, was largely in use. The cup- 
board or buttery shelves glittered with rows of platters, plates, 
pans, pitchers porringers and punch-bowl, which were the 
pride of every good housekeeper. Porringers were in com- 
mon use for drinking porridge, till tea and coffee banished 
them by introducing cups and saucers. A collection of the 
various styles and devices of pewter ware would b,e worth 
securing. Swift wrote : — 



HO IV THE Y LIVED. 343 

The porringers that in a row, 

Hang high and make a glittering show. 

One hundred years ago few had carpets, and those only in 
front of the chairs. The floors were scrubbed white as snow, 
and sanded with white sand in puddles. Some of the best 
disciplined families kept the puddles intact from Monday to 
Monday, thus early training the boys to steer through the 
Dardanelles. In the last century, William Baker rendered a 
bill against the State of Massachusetts for scrubbing and 
sanding the Council Chamber, which was promptly paid. 
Those patterns of neatness, the Amsterdam housewives, carried 
this virtue to great excess. The Pilgrim mothers, of which 
little is said, while living in the Lowlands, quite likely 
borrowed the customs from the Dutch dames. 

Settles were a standard piece of furniture. They were 
made of oak or pine, four or five feet long, with backs higher 
than the heads of the boys, to break the wind and cold while 
the ruddy blaze kept all warm in front. Or else — 

Where glowing embers through the room 
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom. 

Bean-porridge was among the good healthful regulation 
diets. Hence : — 

Bean-porridge hot and bean-porridge cold. 

Some of the skippers were charged with ordering the bean- 
soup thinner than the law allowed. One day when dinner 
was announced, the bean-soup placed upon the table and the 
skipper had taken his place at the head according to custom, 
a funny little Frenchman began to peel off his jacket. " What 
in creation are you going to do? " said the skipper. "To pull 
off my jacket and five for pean. by Cot ! '' said the French- 
man. Thereafter they had no occasion to complain of their 
bean-soup on that voyage. 

The family punch-bowl was seen oftener than the family 
coat of arms. Charles Chatterbox boasted that he had read of 



344 TRURO— CAPE COL). 

a man who swallowed a punch-bowl that held a gallon. That 
was about the standard size on the Cape. In the old-fashioned 
Cornish town of St. Colomb, mine host Polkinhorn of the 
" Red Lion," will be happy to show the huge silver punch- 
bowl presented to the elder Polkinhorn, for throwing the 
Devon champion atTamar Green in 1826, after a three hours' 
tussle. It was said of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who 
settled in Londonderry, " that they never gave up a. pint of doc- 
trine or a pint of rum," and of the settlers of Amoskeag Fall : — 

Their only wish and only prayer, 

For the present world, and the world to come, 

Was a string of eels and a jug of rum. 

The punch-bowl was in full favor till 1800. In common 
acceptation, everybody drank the famous punch and flip. At 
trainings, town-meetings, installations and funerals, it was 
sanctioned by general usage. 

At a town meeting held by adjournment April 12, 1744, it was agreed and 
voted that the grass growing on the common meadows this year, should be sold 
at vendue at the highest bidder, and Elisha Snow bid ten dollars and it was 
struck off to him, and proprietors agreed and voted that the ten dollars shall be 
spent for liquor, and accordingly it was so spent. 

Attest. ANTHONY SNOW. Proprietor's Clerk. 

A barrel of wine was drunk at the funeral of a Boston 
minister. Old records groan with the abuses of this deplora- 
ble practice. The towns were saddled with bills for rum and 
cider at the funerals of paupers. The great temperance reform 
of 1826, that swept like wildfire, came none too soon. The 
punch-bowl was swept as effectually out of sight on the Cape 
as were Pharaoh's chariot wheels in the Red Sea. It is 
recorded in the Probate Office in Boston, that in 1678, at 
the funeral of Mrs. Mary Norton, widow of the celebrated John 
Norton, minister of the First Church, fifty-one and a half 
°-allons of the best Malaga wine were consumed by the 
mourners. Where is the churl that says the old times were 
better than the new ? In early times trenchers were used 
instead of plates. Among the effects of one family, were one 
dozen trenchers. The round were regarded the most fashiona- 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 345 

ble and most likely to nourish sinful tastes. A good Con- 
necticut deacon was charged with pride and worldly minded- 
ness because he used round trenchers in his family. When 
he explained that he turned them with his lathe, and did not 
mean to indulge in sinful tastes, the charge was withdrawn. 
Knives and forks were not much used in Europe till after 
1600. They were generally used by the colonists, though it 
was no breach of good manners to eat with the fingers. Solo- 
mon said, " Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar with 
a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." Our 
grandmothers used to bray samp in huge mortars with pestle 
to match. No little rivalry was sometimes manifest among 
the smart housewives for the early golden samp. Some of 
the old mortars and pestles are yet stored in side-chambers and 
out-houses. Occasionally I pay my compliments to one that 
has seen little of the world for fifty years. 

The spider, or skillet, and the Dutch oven, should not be 
omitted from the list of kitchen furnishings. They were 
indispensable agents of happiness and civilization. Though 
not intended, I am not sure this remark does not contain a 
philosophical truth. To the spider we are indebted for the 
famous " spider cakes," that for tender, wholesome, and well- 
cooked bread of wheat, corn or rye-flour, that to this day 
cannot well be surpassed. The principal qualifications in this 
formula was " faculty." It is surprising howdargely that sim- 
ple quantity permeated comfortable homes, and how large a 
factor it became in the social problem. Should I go further 
and venture an opinion, from a quite broad field of observation 
it would be that the one needed accomplishment in settling 
the domestic question of the day, is faculty. The favorite 
and never-failing item in the Cape bill of fare is pies. The 
Old Colony wives were well — 

versed in the arts 

Of pies, puddings and tarts, 

proving most conclusively their relations with the counties of 
old Devon and Cornwall. A late writer states "that not one 
in a hundred of the population of the world have enough to eat." 



346 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

I should not hesitate to say that not one in a hundred of the 
Cape populations that did not have enough to eat. The tables 
were plain, but the people well fed. In old times the children 
did not always sit at the table with their parents, but were con- 
tent at a side table with good bean-porridge and brown bread, 
and sharp appetites, without which Dives' sumptuous fare was 
a mockery. Healthier and sweeter bread was never eaten 
than the substantial loaf made of native corn and rye and baked 
in the brick ovens. Saturdays' baking in some of the full- 
sized families, as the loaves ranged along the pantry shelf, 
resembled the ranges of Rocky Mountains in the school atlas. 
Sunday dinner was general for all, and not served till after 
both meetings were over. After long walks, long prayers, and 
two long sermons, they were fully prepared for the full courses. 
A boiled dinner with abundance of such vegetables as only 
grow on the Cape, was the substantial feature of a Sunday 
dinner ; a pyramid of Indian pudding was the dessert, and 
ended the eating for the Sabbath-day. 

Pork and beans that have become nationalized, like many 
other Yankee institutions, were especially a Saturday night 
and Sunday morning dish. A modern market was not 
known in the country round. Twice a year the standard 
staple groceries were laid in, and husbanded like gold. Stores 
were few and money not plenty. It was the custom to lay in 
a supply of well-cured codfish twice a year. During the fall, 
winter and spring abundance of fresh fish, including eels — 
Cape Cod eels, scarcely surpassed in delicacy by any fish that 
swim — could generally be had for the labor of catching. Shell 
fish, clams on the flats, the great clam on the bars, quahaugs, 
in some places oysters, could be had the year through. In 
the spring came calves, in the season, lambs, fat hogs, occa- 
sionally a steer, or older beef, which with chickens and game 
for Thanksgiving and other occasions, made up the table sub- 
stantial. Flour bread was regarded a luxury, but a good 
corn-crib and rye-bin laughed at famine, while plenty of vege- 
tables and generally an orchard were important connections. 
A cow or two, a flock of sheep, and poultry, and the provident 
wives' stock of dried and preserved stores were the year-round 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 347 

dependencies in most all well-settled families. Whenever a 
calf, or pig, or steer was killed, all the neighbors received a 
piece ; as this was reciprocated, though meant and appreciated 
as a real kindness, it was really good policy. The poor widow, 
or some unfortunate family that could reciprocate in thanks 
only, were the real beneficiaries. Herbert Spencer says, j 
" Barter began by making a present and receiving one in 
return, and even now in the East, there continue traces of 
this primitive transaction." 

Pumpkin was in great repute among the English settlers. 
The Pilgrims used to say : — 

We have pumpkins at morning, and pumpkins at noon, 
If it was not for pumpkin, we should be undone. 

They were cultivated largely by the Indians, and entered 
considerably into their support. Cape Cod is a paradise for 
pumpkins, and the " Pumpkin Pie " is fit for the gods. 

I've tried the be--t 

In East and West. 
I've lunched 'neath tropic sun ; 

I've tested all 

The fruits that fall, 
And like them every one. 

But North or South, 

No human mouth, 
I will the world apprise, 

Ne'er tasted food 

1 >ne-half so good 
As our own pumpkin pies. 

The early settlers devoted much attention to planting 
orchards. Every house was located with this especial refer- 
ence. Owing to the virgin soil, the protection by the orig- 
inal forests, or some other reason, the fruit-trees of the first 
hundred years and more, grew large, and yielded freely of 
fine, fair fruit. Great varieties of apples were cultivated. A 
favorite was the High-top Sweeting, the most delicious of 
summer apples, and in some particulars peculiar to the Cape. 
When fully ripe they were richly fragrant, and yellow as the 



348 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

apples of Hesperides. Unless I mistake, these lines will be 
read by more than one in the sere and yellow leaf, who will 
stop to dream of the tall trees, the pride of the old orchard, 
and of the fair, fragrant, dewy fruit lying every morning on 
the grass or among the corn. In the hurricane of 1804, many 
of these trees were destroyed. About fifty years ago, a 
Truro fisherman returning from the banks, just before 
sighting the Cape, discovered considerable quantities of 
apples on the water, which were eagerly secured, and regarded 
a precious bit of good luck. In fishermen's phrase, a god- 
send. These were the famous Summer Sweeting, fair and 
fresh as if just from the trees. Moreover, the boys declared 
that they came from their own orchards in Longnook, a 
famous place for these apples ; that Cape Cod must be sunk, 
and the fruit washed from the trees, or how could they be 
found floating upon the ocean ? 

The Cape, however, was duly found, and their old homes 
and favorite Summer Sweeting. But there had been a severe 
easterly storm, and the highest tide ever known in the sum- 
mer on the Cape ; it had washed down some of the sand dikes 
and flooded the orchards, and, owing to the heavy wind, the 
apples were thick on the ground; had been carried out to sea, 
and the ocean currents had borne them to the hungry boys 
who knew the apples from their own orchards. 

Some of the trees grew to prodigious size. A pear-tree 
known to be growing when the town was settled, is still flour- 
ishing in the old orchard of the late Hincks Gross. It is in a 
deep valley, protected by the surrounding hills, its roots strik- 
ing deep into living water springs. In 181 2, as it had not 
borne fruit for some years, it was proposed to cut it down 
Better council, however, prevailed. In gratitude for its pres- 
ervation, for more than sixty years it has never failed a boun- 
tiful yield. The tree is tall and symmetrical, giving no sign 
of decay, and when in full blossom is a mountain of beauty. 
Concerning this tree, there is a tradition that one of the May- 
flower party brought it from England, promising to plant it in 
the New World the first opportunity. That during the second 
visit to Truro, on the journey up the river in pursuit of fresh 



HOW THEY LIVED. 



349 



water springs, perceiving a favorable spot, they fulfilled their 
promise. In favor of this story it may be said that the tree is 
but a short distance from the river banks, and the path of the 
company must have been a few rods only from the place. 
The property is now in possession of Dr. O. R. Gross of New 
York. Whatever maybe the cause, the few High-top Sweet- 
ings, lone and dismantled, left here and there from once 
goodly orchards, will soon pass away. No other High-tops 
will take their place. 
All the apple-trees 
planted during the pres- 
ent century grow low, 
with wide-branching 
limbs. I have often seen 
trees cultivated as curi- 
osities, not half as fine 
specimens as these 
grown curious by hab- 
itat. Trees not higher 
than a man's head will 
often throw out lateral 
branches twenty feet, 
or more, and yield freely. It is not uncommon for the fruit 
growing on the uphill side, to rest on the ground. Quince 
and pears are now cultivated on all sheltered places with grat- 
ifying success. The old theory that fruit-trees could not be 
made to grow within a mile of the ocean is an old myth. 

December 22, 1769, the Old Colony Club, still green and 
vigorous, was formed to resist the growing oppression of the 
Crown. On this day, the anniversary of the landing of the 
Pilgrims, known as Forefathers' Day, was celebrated for the 
first time. The Club consisted of seven original members. 

As a specimen of Old Colony living, we present the bill of 
fare at that feast : 




1. A large baked Indian huckleberry pudding. 

2. A dish of succotash ( corn and beans ), Indian dish. 

3. A dish of clams. 

4. A dish of oysters and a dish ol codfish. 



3S o TRURO— CAPE COD. 



A haunch of venison, roasted by the first jack brought to the Colony. 

A dish of roasted sea-fowl. 

A dish of fresh fish and eels. 

An apple pie. 

A course of cranberry tarts and cheese made in the Old Colony. 

After the feast the following toasts were given : — 

i. To the memory of our brave and pious ancestors, the first settlers of the 
Old Colony. 

2. To the memory of Governor Carver, and all the other Governors of the 
Old Colony. 

3. To the memory of that pious man, and faithful, Mr. Secretary Morton. 

4. To the memory of that brave and good officer, Captain Miles Standish. 

5. To the memory of Massassoit, our first and best friend. 

6. To the memory of Mr. Robert Cushman, who preached the first sermon 
in New England. 

7. The Union of the Old Colony and Massachusetts. 

8. May every person be professed of the same noble sentiments against 
arbitrary power, that our worthy ancestors were endowed with. 

Doctor James Freeman delivered a sermon on the anniver- 
sary of Old Colony Club. 

The Old Colony Pilgrim Society was formed November 9, 
1 8 19. February 24, 1820, it was incorporated by the name 
of the Pilgrim Society. December 22, 1820, Daniel Webster 
delivered the first address. Mr. Winthrop said, " From this 
time, he certainly stood second as an orator to no other man 
who spoke the English language." 

Home was the scene of industry and contentment. More 
happiness than falls to the lot of average mortals. Where 
large families are raised under constant sacrifices and con- 
cessions for each other, a broad charity is fostered, and 
domestic discipline encouraged, that disarms common trials 
and deprivations of more than half their terror. It is un- 
doubtedly true that the majority of the common poor people of 
New England regard themselves "comfortably off," and never 
think or know that they are poor. Toil and close economy 
mean comfort and independence, and a ready hand for their 
friends in sickness and misfortune. Over all such homes, and 
they were not a few in the olden time on the Cape, the angel 
of peace spread her wing. 



HO W THE Y LIVED. 35 1 

" I used to be as happy as the day is long and envied not 
Queen Victoria on her throne," said a lady of eighty, who 
had raised nine sons, caring for all the wants of the family in 
her husband's absence, and raising them to manhood and re- 
spectability. Two of these sons are ministers of churches, one 
a graduate from Yale ; all are graduates from Fishermen's Col- 
lege, and the six now living are filling places of trust. What 
higher honor, what sweeter satisfaction for a woman as she 
approaches the grave, than to know that she has nourished 
and brought up sons and daughters to call her blessed and to 
bless the world ? 

Happy he 
With such a mother ! faith in womanhood 
Beats with his blood. — Tennyson. 

Said another old lady, " I worship every room most in this 
house. My mother came here a bride at twenty, ninety years 
ago. In that bedroom she slept till over eighty, and made 
that coverlid (white as snow) with her own hands. In that 
chair and by that window mother used to sit and talk in her 
old age. Here is where I live in summer ; this floor now 
covered with a carpet, my mother used to scrub every week 
with sand till white as milk." Opening another door, " Here 
I live in winter, and the sunshine lays so beautifully ; there 
is my grapevine — all the grapes we want — there is my 
flower garden ; my good brother now eighty, never comes into 
the house without a smile, and is the best man in the world, 
and kind as he can be. What more do I want in this world ? " 

A few years since, while the writer was sawing a black-oak 
greatly disfigured by monstrous excrescences, known as 
" warts," an elderly woman who stood by remarked : " Those 
things on that log always makes me think of my brother Joe." 
I sawed through my log and sat down on the horse to cool, and 
said, "Tell me the story." 

" Well, cousin Mary Newcomb lived about half a mile from 
our house, mostly through the woods, but clean nice paths all 
the way. We thought we must see each other every day, and 
had made a rule at whichever house we met, to walk with 



352 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

each other half-way home, which we had agreed was by a 
large black-oak, covered with just such warts as that. At the 
tree we always used to stop a while to talk, as we had so much 
to tell each other. After a while, brother Joe and John Daniels, 
both great scamps, found out our parting-place, and were 
always sure to be going by just as we sat down to talk. They 
had occasionally remarked about our tree, and one time Joe 
said, I know what is the matter with it ; every wart on that 
old tree — and there are millions — is a lie you girls have told 
about us innocent boys." 

As she finished the story, I looked at that face of almost 
ninety years ; the light of other days was there, and I fancied 
that before her dim eyes, like Job's, a vision had passed. 
That the intervening seventy-five years had never been ; that 
cousin Mary Newcomb, brother Joe, and John Daniels, had 
once more been with her under the old oak-tree. As she 
turned her bowed form and slowly walked down the green 
grassy slope, I saw these companions three, with youth and 
strength in their step, love and beauty in their eyes and glad- 
ness in their voice, join in the beautiful procession. 

No spring nor summer's beauty hath such grace 
As I have seen in one Autumnal face. — Donne. 



CHAPTER XX. 

WAR OF THE EMBARGO. 

Prosperity. Turn of the Tide. Rotting Vessels. Petitions. An obstinate President. 
New Intercourse Act. Home Manufactures. Right of Search. Declaration of War. 
Letters of Marque. Privateering. Captain Reuben Rich. Yankee Navy. Songs 
of Victory. The Majestic. -The Target. Mill Hill. Pranks. British Officers 
Socially. Dazzling Guineas. Provincetown Fortunes. Trading to New York. 
In their own Coin. The Boy Pilot. The Newcastle. Peace. How it reached 
Provincetown. Old Dartmoor Prison. Truro Prisoners. Damp Weather. The 
Scape-Gallows. A polite Yankee. 

FROM the close of the Revolutionary War till the Embargo 
declared by Congress in 1807, trie Cape towns enjoyed 
a season of almost uninterrupted prosperity, gaining largely 
in material substance. 

Freeman in his History of Cape Cod, says : " The war 
between France and Great Britain was of great advantage to 
the United States, maintaining strict neutrality, and the 
peaceable enjoyment of commerce with the belligerents." 

The Embargo, such a calamity, and so much refered to by 
the old people of our younger days, was alleged as a necessary 
measure to protect our tonnage from British seizure. By the 
North, it was regarded a Southern measure,, and was especially 
unpopular. It was another time of trial in New England, par- 
ticularly in the coast towns. Upon the Cape it fell with most 
disastrous effect, causing much embarrassment and distress. 
The ocean fisheries were abandoned, the dismantled vessels 
rotted at the grassy wharves. Gloomy, indeed, was the pros- 
pect. The men cultivated their little farms, taxing the light 
soil to the utmost, and fished in boats from the shore when 

353 



354 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



possible. The women toiled hard at the wheel and loom ; 
every house was a little factory. By joint labors and strict 
economy, the wolf was kept from the door. Our vessels were 
worse than captured when the Embargo went into effect. 
Cartloads of petitions bearing the names of all the active peo- 
ple of the North, poured in upon President Jefferson, but he 
stubbornly persisted in his destructive policy. 

After two years of Embargo came the Non-intercourse 
Act, interdicting all trade with Great Britain and France. 




EVERY HOUSE WAS A LITTLE FACTORY. 

This, however, like many other acts of the Mother Country 
intended to force obedience by crushing our enterprise, proved 
a blessing in disguise. Domestic manufactory sprung into 
vigorous life, and out of ruin leaped marvellous prosperity. 

The next turn of Great Britain was her " assumed Right of 
Search" and impressment of American seamen, whereby her 



WAR OF THE EMBARGO. 355 

ships were manned with thousands of our brave seamen who 
were forced on board by press gangs at the point of the sword. 

These heaped-up and overbearing demands led to a formal 
declaration of war, June 19, 181 2. It was also charged in the 
declaration that England had interfered with our rights as a 
neutral nation, or in derogation of our rights as a neutral 
nation, made claims upon the United States. The Declara- 
tion of War opened lively privateering under Letters of Marque. 
Under the severity of the preceding years, our men had 
become restive and ready for any changes and hot for retal- 
iation. The fishermen crowded the privateers and volunteered 
in the naval service. Our young navy achieved high honors, 
and acquired wide renown in this war that gave to our history 
such names as Decatur, and Hull, and Perry. 

For a generation, the songs commemorating these naval vic- 
tories were sung in the forecastle of every American ship on the 
ocean. If open to criticism, they stirred the old patriotic fire 
and were regarded a tribute of honor to the brave sailor. 

We quote a verse from one or two of the most popular : — 

You thought our frigates were but few, 

And Yankees could not fight, 
Until bold Hull the Gnerriere took, 

And banished her from sight. 

Then next your Macedonian, 

No finer ship could swim, 
Decatur took her gilt-work off, 

And then he took her in. 

Ye Parliaments of England, ye Lords and Commons too, 
Consider well what you're about and what you mean to do ; 
You are now at war with Yankee boys, and soon you'll rue the day, 
You roused the sons of Liberty in North America. 

The exposed condition of the town to the enemy was early 
apparent, and we find early in the beginning, a committee of 
safety appointed, consisting of the following persons : Israel 
Lombard, Esq., Zaccheus Rich, Captain Freeman Atkins, 
Captain Jaazaniah Gross, Stephen Mills, Jonah Stevens. 

The Yankee privateers fully maintained the reputation 



356 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

acquired during the Revolutionary War, that nearly stripped 
English ships from the ocean and vexed English commerce 
from sea to sea. Considerable money was made privateering. 
The most noticeable instances in our community was of Cap- 
tain Reuben Rich, who with two others fitted out a vessel 
under Letters of Marque. The first day out they took an 
English East Indiaman, brought her to Boston, and Captain 
Rich sold out his interest for $17,000 and had his money in 
his pocket all within twenty-four hours. 

The English men-of-war were as thick around the Cape 
as flies in summer, making Provincetown headquarters. The 
Majestic was the Admiral's ship. She used to lie at 
anchor between Truro and Provincetown, and used the old 
mill that then stood on Mill Hill, as a target during artillery 
practise. While this was going on, the people preferred the 
eastern side of the hill. This mill was among the first of the 
three windmills built in Truro, as mentioned by Doctor Free- 
man. It was kept at this time by Zaccheus Knowles. Some 
of the stones may be seen to-day on top of Mill Hill. 

Many years before the war, on a cold, calm, winter night, 
some frolicsome fellows bent on fun at any cost, launched one 
of these mill-stones. It tore over the frozen ground, crushing 
trees, fences and everything in its way like a thunderbolt, and 
roaring like an earthquake. The people rushed from their 
beds declaring the Day of Doom had come. Luckily it missed 
a house near its path, which it would have gone through like 
stubble. The young blades were probably the most frightened, 
and as a reward was offered for their arrest, were glad not to 
advertise their prank. 

In this connection I am reminded of another prank by the 
Pilgrim boys in the long ago. An old lady who lived alone, 
had a fat pig killed and hung up in a shed joining her house. 
Soon after, she went away for a few days, leaving her pig 
hanging up, as is the custom in cold weather. In those days, 
houses were rarely locked. There was not a lock or bolt on 
our house for forty years. Some boys entered the old lady's 
house, gave the pig a second dressing, this time in nightgown 
and cap, and lay it nicely in her bed, covered snug and warm, 



WAR OF THE EMBARGO. 357 

with his head resting on the pillow. She came home in the 
evening alone, and was terrified to find her bed occupied by a 
stranger. 

The officers often landed, visited the houses, were always 
very civil, and became well acquainted with a good many 
families. They purchased butter, milk, eggs, chickens, and 
other supplies, and secured small repairs as needed, paying for 
them quite liberally in British gold. The officers made no 
efforts to conceal their well-filled purses of dazzling guineas, 
which in those hard times quite dazzled the eyes of the poor 
people. 

But the jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that honor feels 

If reports are true, the officers were sometimes equally 
dazzled by eyes bright as their guineas, and coy glances, 
withal. Provincetown received no small benefit from the 
English vessels, and some of the fortunes since acquired, 
had their beginning from this source. Some timid people 
kept their cattle in the woods, for fear they would be carried 
off by the bargemen ; but as dastardly as some of the Britishers' 
doings were reported on the water, I have heard of nothing 
dishonorable among the people. 

The landing of the barges was watched with much interest; 
an old lady told me they (the girls) thought it good fun to see 
them land. Another lady said, that returning from school 
with her young companions, and meeting a party of Britishers 
on the road, they turned a little up the hill. The jaunty 
lieutenant said pleasantly, touching his gold-banded cap, 
" Don't turn out of the road, young ladies, we won't harm you." 

As it was impossible to carry fish to Boston market, it 
became a custom with the fishermen to load their boats, and, 
keeping well under the shore, and under cover of night or 
fog, avoid the barges, work their way to Sandwich, where 
boat and cargo were carted over to Buzzard's Bay, and so 
sail on to New York, and steal back the same way. 

The boats were sometimes overhauled by the barges and 
searched. I have heard of only one or two cases where they 
were stripped of their stores ; but what were the provo- 



358 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

cations, if any, in these exceptional cases, I cannot tell. 
It is quite possible the fishermen smarting under the sense of 
injustice, and with the old hatred toward the English, 
inherited from their fathers, often aggravated them, and it is 
quite probable that the young officers in charge of the barges 
often transcended the orders of their superiors. It is said 
that the boys after one or two trips to New York were ready 
to embark on a privateer as their only way of revenge. 

Commander Ragget, of H. B. M. ship Spencer, made a 
demand upon Brewster for ^250, which was paid. A demand 
was also made upon Orleans, which was refused, and the 
valiant captain paid in his own coin. In a few instances they 
seized boats and held their crews prisoners till the demand 
was paid. 

One day the great barge of the Majestic was out on a forag- 
ing expedition to Wellfleet. Being in need of a pilot, and 
finding two boys in a whaleboat catching mackerel off Truro, 
the lieutenant demanded that the oldest, a lad of fifteen, should 
go as their pilot ; the boy said he was not a pilot, and could 
not leave his brother, a little fellow of nine years, alone in the 
boat. At the lieutenant's glittering sword held over his head, 
and a threat to cut his bead off, he concluded to go, and let 
his brother get home as best he could. The boy rigged a 
Spanish windlass and weighed his anchor and managed to get 
ashore. The barge set the pilot boy ashore at Wellfleet, and 
he walked home without jacket, shoes or hat. The eldest boy 
was the late Captain John Elliott Knowles of Truro, the younger 
Captain Isaiah Knowles, a retired shipmaster now living on 
Forest street, Boston Highlands. 

They sometimes felt the need of pilots, as especially illus- 
trated at the close of the war, when the fine ship-of-war New- 
castle, from Boston to Provincetown ran ashore on the shoal 
ground abreast South Truro. Help was immediately sent from 
Provincetown. Guns and other ordnance were thrown over- 
board, and a shot of cable slipped with sheet anchor, when she 
was got off. But the big cable and anchor, with everything 
else possible, was soon seized by the Truro and Wellfleet 
boats, and found a good market. 



WAR OF THE EMBARGO. 359 

In all the vicissitudes, losses and discomforts growing out 
of all these years of the Embargo and war, Truro shared fully, 
and furnished more than an average number of men for all 
emergencies. The welcome news of peace was at last pro- 
claimed. How it reached the Cape is related by a Prov- 
incetown man to his neighbor in the following story: "They 
say peace has got down as far as Truro, but it's hard telling, 
Bill D 's boys lie so like fury." 

The English war ships were as sharply watching our 
privateers as they were sharply watching to escape their 
clutches. Not unfrequently, however, one was gobbled up, 
and the crew carried to Dartmoor for a taste of prison life. 
Among these from Truro were Samuel H. Smith, William 
White, Ephraim Lombard, Sylvanus Collins, Ephraim Paine, 
David Snow, Abraham Chapman, John Grozier, Francis 
Wells, and Joseph S. Dyer ; possibly others. Mr. Grozier, 
the last survivor, died November, 1878, aged ninety. Sylva- 
nus Collins, aged twenty-four, died at Liverpool, March 16, 
1814. 

Fifty years ago, most every neighborhood of our coast 
towns had its Dartmoor prisoner, who, if he could not 
" shoulder his staff and tell how fields were won," repeated 
for the hundredth time, stories of prison life, to open-eared 
boys, some of whom no doubt supplemented a more bitter 
experience at Old Libby and Andersonville. Near the 
roadside of an old English inn on the borders of Dartmoor, 
there used to swing a weather-beaten sign, on which was 
rudely pictured a poor wayfaring traveller battling against 
a furious moor storm. Beneath were these words : — 



Before the wild moor you venture to pass, 
Pray step within and take a glass. 



This inn was directly on the road to the old prison, and 
it is more than probable that some of our men and boys 
not only read these lines of invitation, but actually ventured 
to try a mug of mine host's nut-brown ale. Stretching away 
for miles are the desolate barrens of Dartmoor, and far out 



36o TRURO— -CAPE COD. 

on the coast is old Dartmoor prison, of which we used to 
hear so much, and sometimes see crude drawings kept as heir- 
looms. Dartmoor is one of the great, desolate moors, fifteen 
hundred feet above the sea, on the south coast of England, 
in Devonshire, fifteen miles from the great naval station of 
Plymouth, and takes its name from the river Dart, which 
flows through it twenty miles to the ocean. The prison was 
built in 1809, for French prisoners of war. It covers thirty 
acres, and cost ,£127,000. The grounds are enclosed by a 
double line of high walls, which enclose a military road 
nearly a mile long, with sentry boxes and large bells, which 
used to be rung during the thick fogs so often prevalent. It 
has fine-finished buildings three hundred feet long, with 
accommodations for ten thousand prisoners, which it has 
entertained. It is now occupied as a convict prison. Dart- 
moor is subject to rain as well as intense fog ; hence the old 
rhyme in that section : — 

The south wind blows and brings wet weather, 
The north gives wet and cold together ; 
The west wind comes brimful of rain, 
The east wind brings it back again. 
Then if the sun in red should set, 
We know the morning must be wet; 
And if the eve is clad in gray, 
The next is sure a rainy day. 

In fine weather, and in summer, the climate is bracing 
and delightful, and has many tourists ; but in winter the 
blustering winds sweeping over the craggy hills and broad 
moors, are dreary enough. 

JOHN HILL THE SCAPE-GALLOWS. 

In 181 1, during the war between Spain and France, Captain 
Elisha Paine, of Truro, and Freeman Atkins, of Provincetown, 

first officer, of , were bound to the Mediterranean with 

a load of fish. John Mayo and John Hill were seamen. 
When near the Spanish coast, they were boarded by a French 
corvette, and by some cause not now known, Mayo and Hill 



WAR OF THE EMBARGO. 361 

were carried off prisoners and landed in Lisbon. From thence 
they were transported to a French army corps of sixteen 
thousand men, who were marching through the enemy's 
country with a pay train carrying a large amount of gold. The 
march led through a deep and dangerous defile of three 
miles. When fairly in the pass, they were surprised by a 
murderous fire being opened on them from the overhanging 
cliffs and mountains that swarmed with men. Every officer, 
and all but sixteen hundred men, were tilled. The remnant 
were taken prisoners and put in a Spanish prison. Among 
the prisoners were Mayo and Hill, who escaped without a 
scratch through the terrible slaughter. 

The Frenchmen were inclined to offer indignities. to theii 
American fellow-prisoners. Mayo was like Miles Standish, 
small of stature, but soon red-hot. He carried a ready tongue 
and readier muscle. If they could not understand his tongue, 
there was no mistaking the eloquence of his muscle. On 
one occasion he whipped several and offered to fight the 
whole company if they would come on singly and show fair 
play, an invitation the polite Frenchmen declined, leaving 
Mayo a great hero. Hill was arrested as a spy and marched 
out to be shot ; just as the signal was to be given, a gallop- 
ing horseman was seen in the distance waving a flag. He 
bore a reprieve, stating the wrong man had been arrested. 
Hill was released, but received his title of scape-gallows. 
After a few months they managed to escape, and were car- 
ried to Flanders ; and after many hair-breadth escapes, arrived 
at home safe and sound after years of absence. Mr. Mayo 
died in good old age, in the peace of Christ, having raised 
a large family of enterprising boys. Like the patriarch, he 
saw his children's children to the fourth ^feneration. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

Dividing Line. Act of 1777. New Departure. The Bell Meeting-house. Honest Work. 
• Rev. Stephen Bailey. Law Suit. John Harding. David Snow. Rev. Charles 
Boyter. Maximum of Prosperity. Government Bounty. Sailing for the Banks 
Stewart and Bismarck. Love of the Marvellous. Spiritual Visitants. Public Senti 
ment. An Oracle. Lucky Fishermen. Smart Men. Captain Godfrey Rider, 
Uncle Wiff. " Jonas." Sermon on Luck. Rev. C. B. Elliott. A dual Life. Rev 
E.W.Noble. Installation. 1849 — Quarter Centennial — 1S74. Hon. Thomas N 
Stone, M. D. Interesting Services. Poem. Sunday Fisning. Jeremy Taylor. 
Noble Christian Men. Cooging. Sunday-school. James Collins. The old Arith 
metic. Character. Rev. Osborn Myrick. Union Church. 

NO more gratifying assurance of the growing enlightenment 
of the age can be shown than the following act of the 
Court, June 7, 1777, which may be regarded the dividing line 
between the old and the modern Congregational Church. 
" Provided that every denomination of Christians, demeaning 
themselves peaceably and as good subjects of the Common- 
wealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law, and 
no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another 
shall be established by law." Citizens were henceforth 
exempted from taxation for the support of any other than the 
religion which they conscientiously approved and maintained. 
It was probably more than a generation before the spirit of 
this act was practically adopted in towns like Truro, with 
only one church. I have therefore allowed the. new depar- 
ture to begin with the closing of the tripartition of one hun- 
dred and eighteen years, ending with the death of Mr. Damon. 
With the new Congregational Church, I must be content 
with a general outline. The present house, of which we pre- 

362 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 363 

sent a very fine pen drawing, first known as "The Bell meet- 
ing-house, " was built in 1827, only one year after the Meth- 
odists had built on the same hill. The sermon of dedication 
was by Rev. John Turner ; the text from Haggai, i. 4. 

Cost of the house, S2673.64 

Cost of the bell, 320.00 

Cost of the stove and pipe, 123.00. Sy 16.64 

The pews were sold December 18, at a premium of 
nine hundred dollars. Those were the days of cheap and 
honest work. All kinds of building material and labor were 




1S27 — THE NEW BELL MEETING-HOUSE — I083. 

cheap. The best of workmen were paid not over one and a 
quarter dollars per day, the architect and superintendent, Dea- 
con Solomon Davis, perhaps a quarter more. The test of their 
workmanship can be seen after fifty-four years. The builders 
of that day began with the masonry and included every 
department — plastering, doors, sashes, putty, glazing, blinds 
if used, and painting. This was regarded a model meeting- 
house : a credit to the builders, the society and the town. The 
crimson damask silk pulpit hangings, in ample festoons, and 
the pulpit upholstery were not behind the fashions of the 
day. 

Rev. Stephen Bailey, a native of Greenfield, N. II.. 
formerly a Methodist preacher, was the successor oi Mr. 
Damon. He preached at the Old North till the new house 



364 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

at the Centre was finished, when he ministered to both socie- 
ties. Mr. Bailey before coming to Truro, had preached 
several years for the Seamen's Friend Society in Boston. 
As a compliment, his church in Truro made him a life mem- 
ber of the society. In after years he returned again to this 
work. In 1830, after five years of successful ministry, he 
received a call to Wellfleet, where he preached eight years, 
when he was dismissed at his own request. During this time 
occurred the exciting lawsuit between himself and John 
Harding, of Wellfleet, then a partner of the late David Snow 
of Boston, who was also prominent in the suit. The court 
was holden in Truro and commanded considerable local atten- 
tion, private discussion, interpretation and interpolation on 
the Cape. Frivolous charges from trifling causes, aggravated 
no doubt by sectarian jealousies of the day, were the occasion 
of this unchristian warfare. Nothing immoral was proven 
against Mr. Bailey's Christian character. Possibly it inter- 
fered with his usefulness and caused him to ask his dismis- 
sion not long after, though very popular with his people. He 
moved to Dorchester, where he purchased a comfortable home 
still in possession of his daughters. While in Dorchester, 
through the cooperation of Doctor Codman, he built a small 
church, which became so popular that the Mother Church 
became solicitous for her own flock. Mr. Bailey was an ear- 
nest, energetic man, and an eloquent preacher. He died in 
Dorchester, December 10, 1868. Reverend Silas Baker suc- 
ceeded Mr. Bailey. His installation took place March 7, 
1832, upon conditions that the relations could be dissolved by 
a notice of six months, from church or pastor. As might 
have been expected, a relation so precarious, was of short 
continuance. He was dismissed May, 1834. Rev. Charles 
Boyter was the next settled minister. Mr. Boyter was born 
in Hull, Yorkshire, England ; was a member of the University 
of Pennsylvania, and graduate of Princeton College in 1825. 
He was installed March 16, 1836, and continued his pastorate 
till June 6, 1843 : expenses of installment, $15.00. Mr. Boy- 
ter was a sound moderate preacher, a faithful and sympathizing 
pastor of unquestioned piety. He was a gentleman of pleas- 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 365 

ant address, wore a rosy, priestly face beaming with good 
health and good nature ; calm and serene as a summer day. 
Had his observation been keen and discriminating, as his 
heart was generous and kind, he would have seen that a 
more ready adaptation to the people, and a more hearty coop- 
eration in their work, were all important to his broadest use- 
fulness. During Mr. Boyter's pastorate, Truro reached its 
maximum in population and prosperity. Education received 
a marked impulse, and the condition of the people materially 
improved. The manufacture of salt was profitable ; a large 
number of vessels were bought ; packing and outfitting were 
wonderfully increased, and the future seemed full of promise. 
Government bounty was then paid to vessels four months 
under license in the cod-fishery which kept a large fleet on 
the Banks during the spring. They were usually ready to 
sail about the first of April, or later, and all about the same 
time. The Sunday preceding" this event, the churches 
would be well-filled to hear the good-by sermon to the Bank- 
ers. I remember how deserted and spiritless seemed the 
churches and surrounding hills for Sundays following. How 
wives and mothers sought comfort from each other, and bash- 
ful maidens looked their thoughts and tendernesses. 

Sailing away ; 
Losing the breath of the shores in May, 
Dropping down from the beautiful bay, 
Over the sea-slope vast and gray ; 
And the skippers' eyes with a mist are blind, 
Of a gentle face he leaves behind, 
Thinking of him. 

One spring Mr. Boyter advertised to preach to the fisher- 
men a sermon on " Luck." This little word has a tremend- 
ous reserve force. Among fishermen, sailors and soldiers it 
is like the name of McGregor in the Highlands : " A spell to 
conjure up the devil withal." It is said that the late A. T. 
Stewart, of New York, was a firm believer in luck. So much 
so that he would not employ a man who had the reputation 
of being unfortunate. Bismarck is also a believer in signs 
and omens. Luck is unscriptural and absurd ; theoretically, 



366 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

only the ignorant and superstitious believe it. It is kept 
alive only by marvellous traditions in nursery books, or mar- 
vellous personalities, like the Flying Dutchman. Practically, 
however, Mr. Stewart and the great Prime Minister have 
more sympathizers than the world knows. 

" Born to luck," is an old saying and full of mischief. 
"Luck is better than pluck," is good and acceptable doctrine to 
a lazy man. At this time — say fifty years ago — few had the 
courage to oppose a public sentiment, whose mantle of charity 
was wide enough to shelter their faults as well as misfortunes. 
The prosperous man this year, understood that his luck 
might turn next, and he hesitated to run against an oracle 
that might some time save his reputation. 

A lucky fisherman must be quick of apprehension, fertile 
in resources, independent in judgment and wide awake. He 
may be all this, and not be lucky, not having the born faculty. 
Even the born faculty will not bring fish to his hook ; there 
must be nerve, known among fishermen as "smartness." 
Lucky men are most always bold, brave men ; and fortune 
favors the brave. 

Captain Godfrey Rider, the father of Rev. Dr. Wm. H., of 
Chicago, and Colonel Godfrey, of Medford, was at one time 
lying wind-bound in Hampton Roads near Norfolk, in com- 
pany with a large fleet bound East. The wind was north- 
easterly and weather thick, but the young captain resolved to 
push out, hoping that the wind might vary a few points out- 
side, which would enable him to pick his way along. When 
a few miles out he took a fairish wind so he could slant along, 
and saw no more land nor sky till he struck the shore in 
Portland Harbor. Here he had quick despatch, as vessels 
were scarce, and started again for Baltimore with a fair wind. 
When he arrived at Hampton Roads the same wind and 
weather prevailed as he had left, and the same fleet lay wind- 
bound, waiting a change to go to sea. 

So strong was this feeling that it sometimes proved a 
serious embarrassment to good deserving men who happened 
for a few years successively to miss an average voyage. A 
successful old skipper related a bit of his experience to this 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 367 

point. When he was young and had the reputation of mak- 
ing good voyages, one of his neighbors, an excellent man 
who had been unfortunate for several successive seasons, 
came to him and very sensibly stated his case, and desired to 
go with him the next season. The skipper said, " I will let 
you know in a few days." He thought the matter over seri- 
ously, and, like a wise man, talked with his wife about it. 
After considering that the applicant had a sick wife, a large 
family, and that he lived in a crazy old house and was in 
debt, and knowing that he was really deserving, he told the 
man he should go, and be one of his sharesmen. A few days 
after he met one of his old crew, who excitedly said, " I 
hear, Skipper, that you have shipped uncle Wiff (a nickname) 
to go with us next year ; I won't go in the vessel with him ; he 
is a Jonas, and never makes anything. You won't make a 
dollar, and I am not going with you if you carry him." The 
skipper said, " I have told uncle Wiff he may go, and go he 
shall, make or break, whether you go or not." 

With a pleasant laugh and a merry twinkle in his eye, as 
the memory of early days and a good deed warmed his heart 
he added, " We made that year the best voyage I ever made, 
and uncle Wiff was one of the best men I ever saw. He 
went with me till his wife recovered, and he built a new house, 
and his children could take care of themselves." 

Mr. Boyter had a crowded house to hear his sermon on 
Luck. He struck hard blows at many old-time abuses and 
crudities, and pointed out many inconsistencies. Unques- 
tionably he gave much wise and practical advice which the 
fishermen might well have heeded ; but the spirit and appli- 
cation of his sermon was unfortunate, and added nothing to 
his popularity. He declared emphatically that there was no 
such thing as luck, and warned them to banish it forever from 
their households, vessels and vocabularies. Three to five 
months' trips on the Banks, out of sight of land, he compared 
to " trouting in the brooks of Vermont with a fly and pole." 
He advised them how to bait their hooks, and said " if they 
did not catch fish, it was because they did not try." 

The old fishermen of long experience, grown gray with 



368 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

perils manifold, and the hardy young men early trained to skill 
in their calling, thought they knew as much about fishing as the 
parson who had never caught a codfish, and would not bait 
their hooks with red flannel, as he advised. Mr. Boyter 
moved from Truro to Orange, N. J., where he died a 
few years ago. His eldest daughter Harriet married Captain 
John A. Paine 2d, formerly of Truro. She died a number of 
years since. 

Rev. C. B. Elliot was Mr. Boyter's successor. He began 
his labors as a stated supply and pastor, Sunday, July 16, 
1843, and closed February 2, 1845. Ill-health was the prob- 
able cause of his short service. Mr. Elliot was a middle-aged 
man, a consumptive and hypochondriac. His mufflers, over- 
coats and overshoes, were no less a wonder than his sermons, 
which, never over twenty minutes long, were marvels of 
learning, logic, doctrine and eloquence. I have never since 
heard so much of a sermon in so short a time. His blood- 
less, parchment face, caused, it was said, by strong coffee 
and strong cigars, and solemn abstracted manner, seemed a 
part of his severe theology. Orthodox enough he was in the 
pulpit, in some sense heterodox in life, though without a moral 
blemish. Some people have a dual life, that, like the hemi- 
spheres, never touch. The wonder is that they always main- 
tain their separate individuality and do not sometimes play 
the wrong part. Those who knew Mr. Elliot best, said that 
besides the ecclesiastic, cold, critical and accurate, there was 
another man ; broad, sunny and compromising; full of anec- 
dote and grim humor, with a keen relish for a joke. In the 
orbit of home he was frank and genial ; a steadfast friend 
and good companion. Rev. George Goodyear, successor to 
Mr. Elliot, was from Townsend, Vt. He commenced his 
labors March 6, 1845; was settled February 18, 1846; 
dismissed June, 1849. 

Rev. Edward Wolcott Noble, D.D., the present incumbent, 
was born in Williamstown, Mass., 181 1. Graduated at Williams 
College. He was installed pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Truro, December 26, 1849. The churches repre- 
sented were Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, South 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 369 

Wellfleet and Provincetown. Rev. Stephen Bailey, Moderator 
of the Council of South Wellfleet ; Rev. Osborn Myrick, of 
Provincetown, Scribe ; Rev. E. W. Tucker, of Chatham, 
Assistant Scribe. The sermon was preached by Rev. Charles 
C. Beaman, of Wellfleet. The ordaining prayer was by Rev. 
E. W. Tucker ; the Charge to the Pastor was by Rev. Jacob 
White, of Orleans ; the Right Hand of Fellowship was by 
Rev. Osborn Myrick ; the Charge to the People was by 
Rev. Stephen Bailey. The entire expense of this installation 
was eleven and a half dollars. 

His quarter centennial was celebrated by appropriate 
services in the church on Tuesday, December 29, 1874, after- 
noon and evening, under the auspices of the Barnstable Con- 
ference. As quarter centennials are becoming more and 
more of the past, an event so worthy of celebration is 
altogether worthy of record in this history. It also better 
covers the events of his pastorate during the first twenty- 
five years than any recital we could offer. We have there- 
fore drawn fully from the published and other reports of 
that event. 

The church was very tastefully and appropriately decorated with evergreen. 
An anchor of evergreen with the dates 1849- '874, surmounted the pulpit, while 
the desk was beautifully decorated with choice flowers, the gift of the pastor's 
friends in Boston. Near the close of the afternoon services, the sun looking 
out from behind the clouds shed gentle beams through the western windows of 
the church, and as the rays fell upon the anchor and the dates on the wall above 
the pulpit, it was regarded by some present as a happy omen for the future. 

Rev. John W. Dodge, of Yarmouth, in behalf of the committee appointed 
by the Conference to take charge of the preparations, called the meeting to 
order. Haw beautiful are their Feet, was sung by the choir, and prayer was 
offered by Rev. Henry B. Hooker, D. D. The following original hymn was 
sung. 

Father, within this ancient church, 

We bend in grateful prayer, 
Since 'mid the perils of the past 

Our lives have been thy care. 

We praise Thee for a Saviour's love, 

His life, and death divine, 
We bless thee for thy guiding stars 

That on our darkness shine. 



37° TRURO— CAPE COD. 

To-day we lift our heartfelt praise, 

That at thine altar here, 
We greet the pastor, loved and tried 

Through many a passing year. 

Bend o'er his path with love divine, 

Dispel each coming fear, 
And may he find in ev'ry strait 

Thy promised aiding near. 

And when that short'ning path shall end, 

When ends for us his prayer, 
May he, with harvest workers stand, 

His full sheaves with him there. 

Rev. John W. Dodge then spoke a few fitting words of greeting, alluding to 
the success of the present pastorate, despite the peculiar trials arising from the 
departure of so many of the people of the church and society to other places. 
We are here, he said, to congratulate the pastor and people in view of his 
success, and to rejoice that God has permitted him to render such service. 
Such an event as this is a rare one anywhere in these days. Only twelve active 
pastors in our denomination in this State to-day have had longer terms of ser- 
vice. The event is especially rare in this county. The average length of pas- 
torates in this county is three years and a half. In Suffolk County it is 
fourteen years. Throughout the State it is seven years and a half. A pastorate 
of the length of this takes deep root in the life of any community. It influences 
generations. 

The Hon. Thomas N. Stone, M. D., of Wellfleet, formerly a resident of 
Truro, and member of this church, was called to the chair as president of the 
day. The doctor's reputation was already well-established as a presiding offi- 
cer, and he was never more at home. His native wit was never more charming 
and vivacious. He remarked, " They cannot show a large church, but it is a 
nursing church. Her former members have made their homes in Boston, and 
Somerville, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. They have gone out with 
an energy and spirit that was begotten here. There is something of Puritan 
stability still lingering here. This church has given the members too much 
energy, and they have gone away. The lazier churches have kept us at home." 
He made pleasant allusions to the Truro Academy, and the noble work it did 
in its day ; that it had made itself felt as a power for good throughout the United 
States. 

An interesting letter was read from Rev. Osborn Myrick of Middletown, 
Vermont, formerly a pastor of the Church in North Truro, and for twenty years 
pastor of the Congregational Church in Provincetown. Rev. Charles Beaman 
now a resident of Boston, who had preached Mr. Noble's ordination sermon, was 
introduced. He related that Chancellor Kent once said to Rev. Dr. Erskine 
Mason, that he would take his hat off to a minister who had stayed by his 
people ten years. He alluded pleasantly to the fact that Mr. Noble and himself 
were classmates at Andover Theological Seminary. The President announced 
the Rev. Charles S. Macready of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wellfleet, 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 371 

would speak " without notes." Oh, where are Kings and Empires now, was 
sung by the audience, when Rev. Henry A. Goodhue of West Barnstable was 
introduced, who spoke in behalf of the other churches of the Conference. This 
speech was regarded as an " elegant and fitting tribute " to the pastor of Truro. 
Mr. Joshua H. Davis, formerly preceptor of the Truro Academy, now the 
superintendent of the public schools in Somerville, was next called, and made 
a historical address. The closing address of the service was given by Deacon 
Jonathan Higgins of Orleans, on " The Educational Power of the Pastor," 
which abounded in reminiscences. The company then repaired to the Town 
Hall, where a bountiful collation was spread. At 6:30 the services were resumed 
in the church. Prayer was offered by Rev. Emery G. Chadduch of Wellfleet. 
The chairman read the following original poem : — 

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 

By Thomas N. Stone, M. D. 

Twenty-five years of pastor's life, 

Who may their secret tell ; 
The hopes, the fears, the joys, the griefs, 

Which in their memory dwell ? 

Twenty-five years he's sowed and prayed 

In this his chosen field, 
The harvest morn alone will show 

What fold his labors yield. 

Twenty-five years the babes he blessed, 

Sprinkling each angel row, 
Bear here the cross, or there the crown 

Life brings her workers now. 

Twenty-five years — yon white stones tell 

How oft a tear he's shed 
O'er those, who battled by his side, 

Now with the silent dead. 

Twenty-five years the youth he taught 

With ever watching care, 
Have shown in many a contest won, 

The girdings of his prayer. 

They stand beside Pacific's wave, 

Down inland streams they glide, 
They dare Atlantic's wintry storms, 

They sleep beneath its tide. 

They guide our ships o'er foreign seas, 

They throng our cities' mart; 
Yet lessons of their childish years 

Still rest in manhood's heart. 



372 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

We may not know which ray of Spring 
Unlocks the May-flower's tomb, 
• We may not point the drops of dew 

That made the violet bloom. 

We cannot tell what word or look 

May stir the soul within, 
We may not guess what gentle tone 

Will win the heart from sin. 

'Tis ours to sow, though cold the sky 

And sterile be the soil. 
Not for the sheaves our Master pays, 

But for his servants' toil. 

The pastor's words some mother now 

In hope may sow again, 
And future years will proudly show 

How waves the golden grain. 

The purblind world may never know 
From whence the seed corn came, 
The reapers on her prairies broad 
Ne'er hear our Noble's name. 

God knows the sower and his toil, 

He knows from whence the seed, 
His memory keepeth all the score, 

His love will bring the need. 

Brother, amid old Truro's hills 

Still sow the precious grain, 
The Master's eye will watch its growth, 

Will bring the sun and rain. 

The sun is westing and the day 

Grows gray amid thy hair, 
Fear not, the God who watched the past 

Will guide thy foot with care. 

Not for earth's riches hast thou wrought, 

Not for his servile breath, 
Thy Master's word comes cheering still, 

" Be faithful unto death I " 

The poem was followed by an address historical and con- 
gratulatory, by Hon. John W. Davis of Provincetown, in 
which arateful and well-deserved reference was made to the 




REV. EDWARD W. NOBLB, D.D. 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 375 

pastor's wife. Allusion was made to the progress of invention 
and to the pastorate "in which time God and men have writ- 
ten history." Rev. John W. Dodge presented the correspond- 
ence, which consisted of letters from Rev. H. Beebe of New- 
Haven, a clsssmate of the pastor's. Rev. George F. Walker of 
Ashby, formerly of VVellfleet, A. L. Clark of Greenport, Long 
Island, Rev. Charles A. Stoddard, D. D., of New York, Dea- 
con E. D. Dyer of Newton, and Rev. Wm. S. Hubball of 
Somerville. Testimonial gifts amounting to three hundred 




CONGREGATIONAL PARSONAGE — RESTDRNCF. OF DR. NOBLE. 

dollars, were presented from former parishioners broadly 
scattered over the country. The pastor fittingly acknowl- 
edged the kindness of his friends and the good Providence 
that first directed his course to the Cape. 

The chairman offered a sentiment to " the wife," and the 
Rev. Doctor Hooker responded, mentioning in his remarks 
that the pastor had joined in marriage during these years one 
hundred and twenty-five couples. A brief address was given 
by Rev. Ansel W. Westgate of Provincetown. During the 
evening Coronation, Nearer My God to Thee, and Auld Lang 
Syne, were sung. The services closed with prayer by Rev. 
Richard Burn of the M. E. Church, Truro, and the benediction 
was pronounced by Rev. John W. Dodge of Yarmouth. 

A faithful portrait of Doctor Noble is here presented. He 
is now (1883) in the thirty-fourth year of his service with the 



376 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

society. During the one hundred and seventy-five years 
since the beginning of Mr. Avery's ministry, four pastors have 
served one hundred and fifty-four years, the interruption of 
the regular succession being between 1828-49. Whatever may 
be the future of this church, the past is secure. The parson- 
age, of which the artist has made a happy drawing, and where 
Doctor Noble has spent the prime of his manhood, was built 
fifty years ago or more. It is a comfortable home, always 
open to friends and visitors. He married Mrs. Blake, a 
daughter of Captain Benjamin Dyer, of Truro. With a 
pleasant society and life-long friends, a cheerful home, a 
promising family, his declining days promise rest, peace and 
the reward of the faithful. 

SUNDAY FISHING. 

This subject has always been an open question on the Cape, 
and in all other fishing communities. It furnishes abundant 
material for discussion in winter, and abundant opportunity 
for violation in summer. A celebrated Truro skipper whc 
used to get unspeakably happy during the winter religious 
meetings, but amid the excitement and anxiety of the sum- 
mer campaign, sometimes forgot his winter covenants, used 
to say, " There was no hope for him if he died during the fish- 
ing season, but in winter he was all right." I have said "an 
open question," because it is a broad issue, and can hardly be 
determined till the work of necessity is bounded. Christ 
taught, If a sheep fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, to lay 
hold and lift it out. It is an accepted principle to save prop- 
erty from perishing on the Sabbath whether on the sea or land. 
If on the high seas, it is a lawful prize. A dead whale is also 
a lawful prize. If as valuable a whale lies spouting at easy 
distance, and ready to be taken, is it morally less a prize 
because alive ? If a fisherman has toiled all the season with- 
out making sufficient to feed and clothe his family, and an 
opportunity offers to fill his decks with valuable mackerel, is 
it more a religious duty to secure the " prize," than to look on 
and see the neighboring vessels redeem the season ? Is it a 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 377 

necessity or not for these poor fishermen to take what seems 
offered, and thereby provide for their own want ? The line, 
or spirit of favorite arguments as stated, is far from being 
exhausted, but enough to indicate the general drift, and I 
think none will say they are to be lightly answered. Old 
Jeremy Taylor, author of Holy Living and Dying, said, " It is 
better to plough upon holy days than to do nothing, or do it 
viciously." 

Forty or fifty years ago, there were in Truro, Wellfleet and 
Provincetown, I might add from all the Cape towns, a class of 
strictly religious Sabbath-keeping skippers. Men of sincere 
piety and enlightened conscience, who honored the Sabbath 
day by keeping it holy. They sustained order and worship on 
board their vessels as at home. Tossed amid the fog at anchor 
on the banks, lying snug under the foresail out at sea, or safely 
moored at Labrador, their little cabins were bethels, whence 
arose hymns of praise and earnest prayers. They would as 
soon thought of stealing as fishing Sunday. Considered in 
the Christian light, with intelligent convictions of Christian 
duty, unwavering adherence to Christian character and true 
Christian manhood, these men were peers with any in the 
world. They received respect and confidence wherever 
known, and made Cape Cod and her sons honored at home 
and abroad. 

There has been another class that would not hoist their 
mainsail to fish Sunday, but would do other work ; go visiting, 
called " cooging," spin yarns, perhaps play cards, really viola- 
ting the sanctity of the Sabbath and degrading its teaching. 
I would not be understood as begging this question, abating 
a jot or tittle from the letter or spirit of God's day, when I 
ask confessed Christians, whether the skipper who believes it 
his religious duty to fish Sunday and maintains wholesome 
discipline, is more a sinner than he who refuses to fish, but 
makes the Sabbath a holiday ? Still, over all argument or 
sophistry is the plain text, " Remember the Sabbath day and 
keep it holy." 

One Sunday late in the fall of 1834, when the fishermen 
were quitting, some on their way home in boats from Prov- 



378 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

incetown, an immense school of blackfish was discovered. 
It was a time of intense excitement ; most all, including some 
Church members, joined in the race. The vast school of sea 
monsters, maddened by frantic shouts and splashing oars, 
rushed wildly on the shore, throwing themselves clean on to 
the beach ; others pursuing, piled their massive, slippery car- 
casses on the first, like cakes of ice pushed up by the tide, 
till the shore presented a living causeway of over six hundred 
shining mammals, the largest number at that time ever 
driven on shore in one school. They landed at Great Hollow 
The news reached the churches just at the close of the morn- 
ing service. During the next few days while the stripping 
was going on, thousands came to the circus. Some who had 
never seen such an aquatic display, were wild with delight, 
jumping from fish to fish and falling among them as among 
little mountains of India rubber. The church-members who 
took a part, had a formal trial ; I think none were expelled. 
Among those in the boats who flatly refused to join in the 
chase, and with the non-concurring church-members took 
separate boats, was a young man who belonged to no church, 
and professed to be no better than his set. His father 
belonged to no church, but was as tenacious of the Sabbath 
as an old Scotch Presbyterian. So deep seated was the home 
education of this young man and the force of his father's 
example, that neither gain nor ridicule could tempt him to 
" break the Sabbath." 

His love and respect for his father and grandfather amounted 
to veneration. Like Daniel Dove, he was the last of his race, 
and had an honest ambition to know all that his ancestors 
had known before him, and as much beside as possible. He 
had read and conned by note, all the books that had come 
down in the family for generations. For successive winters, 
he carried to school an arithmetic, venerable with years. A 
new schoolmaster laughed at his arithmetic, and said he must 
have a new one. " Why do you want me to have a new 
arithmetic ? " said the young man. " My father and my grand- 
father cyphered out of that arithmetic ; I should think it div- 
Ush strange if I can't.'' In early manhood, James Collins 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 379 

dropped into a consumptive s grave. He was called " old- 
fashioned," but a truer heart never beat. 

REV. OSBORN MYRICK. 

I have mentioned that the Christian name of the Dublin 
scholar and Eastham minister, Rev. Samuel Osborn, upon 
whom sat the ten churches, for heresy, became one of the 
popular names of Cape Cod, It has never been better repre- 
sented than in the Rev. Osborn Myrick, of whom the accom- 
panying engraving is an excellent portrait. Mr. Myrick needs 
no introduction to Cape Cod readers of this day and generation. 
The Myricks are an old Cape family. Deacon John was 
among the early settlers of Truro, bought pew Number Six in 
the new meeting-house in 1 721, and was ordained a Ruling 
Elder in 1727. Rev. Osborn belongs to the old line: was born 
in Orleans, August 27, 1816; is a brother of the mother of 
Franklin and B. S. Snow. He graduated at Middlebury Col- 
lege ; received his first license to preach by the Brewster Asso- 
ciation ; was called to supply the Union Church at North 
Truro, October, 1842. Strictly, was the first Congregational 
pastor ; remained till March, 1845, when called to the pastorate 
of the Congregational Church at Provincetown. Ordained 
February, 1846. January 12, married Joanna C. Mills of 
Truro. The Congregational Church for many years had been 
greatly reduced ; was without a regular minister, and in charge 
of the Home Missionary Society. Under Mr. Myrick's faith- 
ful and capable pastorate, a quite vigorous church and full 
congregation were gathered. Mr. Myrick is not only a good 
preacher and pastor, but, like the old Eastham minister, he is 
a valuable citizen ; is not only interested in all that builds up 
and benefits community, but initiates the underlying process. 
He resigned, and was dismissed from the church, 1866. 
October of the same year called to the pastorate of the Con- 
gregational Church at Middleton Springs, Vermont, which he 
is now filling with great acceptability. 

He is still fresh and active in his calling; his tvvoscore 
y^ars of service have neither bent his form, clouded his brow, 



3 8o 



TRURO —CAPE COD. 



nor soured his heart. His excellent wife is still sharing in the 
responsibilities and enjoying the privileges of a pastor's wife. 
May his next score find him still at his work. One of the 
most impressive sermons to which I ever listened, was from 
the Rev. Bartholomew Othemen, in the sixty-fourth year of his 
ministry, at the little church in Truro, 1878. The children 
of Mr. My rick are Jane Josephine, November 5, 1846, died 
September 20, 1849. Joseph, July 22. 185 1, died July 19, 
1864. Osborn Jr.. August 9, 1853, resides in Boston. 

1840— UNION CHURCH, NORTH TRURO— 1883. 

It was understood when the new Orthodox house was built, 
that the society at North Truro was to be continued under 
the same pastorate. Mr. Bailey first lived at the Pond 
Village. As all the Methodists went to the Centre, a small 
congregation was left to gather in the old meeting-house, 







UNION CHURCH, POND VIM-AGE. 

which was inconvenient, in poor repair, and difficult of 
approach in bad weather. These considerations led to the 
sensible plan of abandoning the old connection, and uniting 
all the north part of the town in a Union Society, and build- 
ing in the Pond Village in 1840, a Union Church. Amos 
Sellew, of the village, afterwards of Boston, whose untimely 




THE REV. OSBORN MYRICK 



THE MODERN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 383 

death will be found in another place, was the architect and 
builder. Though then a young man, there was probably not 
in New England at that day, a church building combining 
such architectural design, harmony of taste, and superior 
workmanship, as this little village chapel that cost com- 
pletely finished, nineteen hundred dollars. All the workmen 
engaged belonged in town, and were practical builders, any 
one of them capable of building a church edifice. The 
accompanying engraving is from a photograph taken since 
the alteration, which undoubtedly has led to the convenience, 
but not to the external beauty, of the original. The old 
meeting-house was taken down the same year the Union 
Church was built. The white oak timbers, cut on the spot 
more than a hundred years before, were sound as when 
framed. Many canes were made from them. 

It was the basis of agreement in forming the new society 
that the pulpit should be supplied by ministers from the Con- 
gregational and Methodist Churches. I have heard of only 
peace and harmony during the forty-two years of united worship. 
Perhaps it would be hard to tell whether they are more Con- 
gregational or Methodist. The following list embraces the 
ministers who had served this society : 

Seth H. Beals, 1840-41, M. ; Benjamin M. Southworth, 1842, C, preached 
three months, died of typhoid fever, buried at Truro, a young man of promise ; 
Osborne Myrick, 1842-5, C.j John D. King, 1846-7, M.; Arnold Adams, 1S48, 
M. ; Thomas Smith, 1849, Advent, three months, the society being without a 
pastor, and Mr. Smith being on a visit, supplied till another minister could be 
obtained; George W. Rogers, 1849-50, M. ; Samuel J. M. Lord, 1851-4; C. ; 
Franklin Sears, 1855, M., six months; Job Cushman, 1856-7, C. ; Abram Hol- 
way, 1S59, M., six months, preached at the Centre, 1829 ; Malcolm D. Herrick, 
i860, M. ; Joseph A. Bartlett, 1861-2, M. ; Philander Bates, 1863-5, C* ! Charles 
Stokes, 1866-8, M. ; Jacob M. Price, 1869-70, M. ; Henry W. S. Packard, 
1871-2, M. ; Joel Martin, 1873, M. ; Isaac Sherman, 1874-7, M. ; Charles Mor- 
gan, 1878-81, M. the first two years, C, the last, having joined that church; 
Samuel Morrison, 1S82-3, C. 




CLIMMNG UP TOWARDS THE GREAT HEAR. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARfNG. 



Seafaring. Daniel Webster's Letter. A Cardinal Point. Dr. Dwight. Capt. Obadiah 
Rich. Capt. Benj. Rich. The Good Samaritan. Dr. Young. The Humane Society. 
Letters of Sympathy. The Hill-top Groves. Rev. Charles Rich. Capt. John Collins. 
A model Sailor. E. K. Collins. The Dramatic Line. The Collins' Steam Line. 
From the Pinkey to the Ship. Capt. Richard Baker. Richard Baker Jr. Capt. 
Elisha Baker. The Atkins Family. Lombard. Isaac Snow Gross. Capt. Levi 
Stevens. Isaac Rich. Matthias Rich. Capt. Edmund Burke. 

This is your uncle Charles come home from Spain. 

SEAFARING" is the term applied to the Cape men. 
Their youth and manhood are mostly spent on the ocean 
or in distant ports. Every breeze swells their white sails, and 
their swift keel cuts the waters of every sea. Wherever com- 
merce opens the door, there they shape their course, and there 
the old flag floats : now climbing up towards the Great Bear, 
now burning under Orion. Now the Polar Star is exchanged 

3 8 4 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARTNG. 



3«5 



for the Southern Cross, and the Northern Lights for the 
Magellan clouds. Better than the astronomers, these voyagers 
answer Job's sublime interrogation of guiding Arcturus and 
his sons, binding the sweet influences of Pleiades, and loosing 
the bands of Orion. 

A stately ship 
Of Tarsus bound for the isles 
Of Javin or ( iadire. 

The great cities of the world with their babel tribes, and 
the sunny isles of the sea, are as familiar to these rovers as 
the cottages on their native sands. It sounds like a romance 
to hear such old sea-travellers compare notes when gathered 
around their own hearthstones. 

Calcutta, Manilla, Pedang and Hong Kong, Melbourne, 
Good Hope, the Horn, and Chincha Islands, Valparaiso, 




PASSING THE GOLDEN 



'Frisco, the ports of Europe and the cities on the Mediter- 
ranean, are discussed with a freedom quite appalling to 
landsmen, and carries the conviction, — 



They as comes to go to roam, 
Thinks light of they as stays at home. 



3 S6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

In 1837 one hundred and fifty masters of vessels belonging 
to the little town of Dennis sailed from various ports of the 
Union. In 1850 it was reported more masters and mates of 
vessels sail on foreign voyages from Brewster than any other 
town in the country. A late report states that Cape Cod has 
thirty young men under twenty-three masters of ships. 

Daniel Webster once wrote a letter to his friends in Dennis, 
from which I copy a few sentences in harmony with our 
subject : — 

On the Cape and on the Islands, I have frequently conversed with persons 
who seemed as well acquainted with the Gallipagos, the Sandwich Islands and 
parts of New Holland, as with our counties of Hampshire and Berkshire. 
I was once engaged in the trial of a cause in your district, in which a question 
arose respecting the entrance into the harbor of Owhyhee, between the reefs of 
coral rock guarding it on either side. The council for the opposite party pro- 
posed to call witnesses to give information to the jury. I at once saw a smile 
which I thought I understood, and suggested to the judge that very probably 
some of my jury had seen the entrance themselves. Upon which seven out of 
the twelve arose and said they were quite familiarly acquainted with it, having 

seen it often. 

***** * ***** 

Whatever latitude you travel, upon whatever distant billows you are tossed, 
let your country retain her hold on your affections. Keep her in your hearts, 
and let your carol to her ever be, — 

Lashed to the helm should seas overwhelm 
I'll think on thee. 

I have said economy was a cardinal point in Old Colony 
doctrine. The typical Cape Codder keeps an eye to the 
windward, and a grip on his hard-earned dollars and — dimes. 
But fast moored in their comfortable little homes, and among 
their friends and neighbors, their freedom and hospitality are 
proverbial. There, they enjoy as such men know how, the 
sunshine of life. Perhaps characterized by a bluff heartiness, 
not " black-browed and bluff, like Homer's Jupiter," but 
frank and natural, that disarms criticism, and makes ready 
friends. Travellers have always been attracted by this 
equality of feeling. 

Rev. Dr. D wight writes in 1807: "As there were no inns 
in Truro, I sought lodging at hazard. There are always 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARTNG. 



3»7 



those, where there are no public houses, who will lay them- 
selves out to give entertainment. It was my fortune to 
apply at the house of Captain Obadiah Rich, an obliging, 
industrious, and apparently thriving mariner, with a large 
family, a house of which the dimensions were increasing, and 
a good tract of land." Captain Rich was the father, and this 
was the house of the late Captain Michael A. His death, 
which occurred in 18 10, will be noticed in another chapter. 
The Cape people have always drawn their principal support 
from the ocean : — 

Sterile her soil — not hers the grain 

Waving o'er hill and lea; 
What matters while her gallant sons 

Are tillers of the sea ? 



While the fisheries have been the main industry, the mer- 
chant marine has depended largely upon the good right arm 
of Massachusetts. Truro has always maintained a creditable 
representation i n 
this department. 
Doctor James Free- 
man wrote : " The 
merchant service 
has been from the 
first indebted to 
Truro for some of 
its most able ship- 
masters." A long 
list might be enu- 
merated of those 
who have been 
well and favorably 
known, and not a 
few who have sig- 
nally distinguished their profession. Although of widely differ- 
ing experiences, yet mainly they are through the same chan- 
nels, and individual references would be a repetition, and 
might seem invidious, We shall therefore mention those 




COMl'OKTABLK HOMES. 



388 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

only who have gained some noticeable distinction. History 
is mostly a description of people ; to describe the people has 
been our purpose in this book. All along we have referred 
to men of strong personalities, who represent certain phases 
of the people, regardless of the best or worst, if these com- 
parisons are admissible. We have no great or overtopping 
men ; they do not grow on every bush. 

Among the names within the memory of the living who 
have added to the good name of their native town, stands Cap- 
tain Benjamin Rich. He was born in 1775. In early life 
was a shipmaster. For fifty years was a successful merchant 
in Boston ; for many years under the name of Benjamin Rich 
and Son. He lived near Church Green, on Summer street. 
From a sermon preached by his pastor, Alexander Young, 
D. D., of Church Green, upon the Good Parishioner y I select 
a few passages : 

You must have perceived long ere this that the subject of my discourse has 
been suggested by the recent death of one of the oldest and most valuable 
members of this society. You must have felt that in describing the character 
of the " good parishioner," I have been insensibly sketching the portrait of that 
worthy man, whose animated countenance and manly form we are no longer to 
behold in our Sabbath meetings. You all feel that we have sustained a great 
loss in the departure of our lamented fellow-worshipper. For more than fifty 
years he has worshipped God in this place — his house, as you remember, 
standing hard by the synagogue — and for more than thirty years he has been 
a communicant. He loved holy times and places. He loved the Sabbath and 
the sanctuary. He loved to hear the "bells knoll to church." He loved to join 
with his brethren in social worship. He loved to hear the great truths of 
religion expounded and enforced. He loved to commune at the table of the 
Redeemer. To his foresight and decision mainly, seventeen years ago, we owe 
the preservation of our beautiful spire, which is not only an ornament to the 
church but to the city ; and to him solely are we indebted for raising the nec- 
essary funds to erect the graceful iron fence by which our church green is now 
protected and adorned. As long as it stands it will be his monument. But 
Mr. Rich was not only a good parishioner, he was also a good citizen. His 
singular energy, decision, perseverance, were ever ready to be embarked in the 
cause of humanity and philanthropy. 

He was born to command. He had by nature an executive will. He had 
a way of appealing to the generous sympathies of his fellowmen that was per- 
fectly irresistible. The word fear, too, was not to be found in his dictionary. 
He was a bold, brave man, of an impetuous spirit and a firm, resolute will. 
In the performance of duty he was perfectly fearless of consequences. When 
in the month of May, 1818, the Canton packet blew up in our harbor, Mr. Rich 



LANDFARING AND SEAFARING. 389 

was the first to leap upon her blazing deck to rescue the crew, utterly heedless 
of another explosion. On the third of October, 1841, eight of the fishing vessels 
of his native town were lost in a storm. Mr. Rich forthwith went round with 
his subscription paper among the merchants of Boston and obtained between 
rive and six thousand dollars for the distressed widows and orphans. 

For twenty-three years he was a trustee and fifteen years the president of the 
Humane Society of Massachusetts. He superintended the building and loca- 
tion of the eighteen life-boats stationed along our coast. 

The committee of this society in replying to his letter of 
resignation in 1844, expressed their highest appreciation for 
his executive ability and unselfish generosity. They say — 

You have been instrumental in providing for the wants and relief of the needy 
and shipwrecked mariners. You have superintended the building and the locali- 
ties of our life-boats. To yourself and to the lamented Oxnard belong emphatic- 
ally the praise of this grand scheme of relief to the brave mariner in the hour of 
dreadful peril. Enjoy the high estimate you hold in this community, as a mer- 
chant and a philanthropist. Accept our best wishes for your future happiness 
and usefulness ; and, when your sun sets, may it be in the serenity of a green old 
age. 

Mr. Rich died in Boston in 1851. Upon the steep hilltop, 
northwest of Ebenezer Freeman's house, in a little enclos- 
ure, are buried two members of his family who died in Bos- 
ton of small-pox. The white stones still gleam in the sum- 
mer's sun, and seem to have bleached a purer white in the 
storms of more than threescore years. 

His son Charles was a Congregational clergyman. In 1862 
he was living in Springfield, 111. He visited St. Louis at that 
time with his wife, an accomplished lady, when I made his 
acquaintance ; I was then connected with a large mission school, 
which he addressed with marked ability. I found him a cul- 
tivated Christian gentleman, social and genial. He died in 
Springfield not later than 1864. Of other sons, Samuel H., 
known as " Gentleman Sam, tall and fine," died in Calcutta. 
Benj., partner with his father, died of consumption in the 
West Indies. A daughter married Mr. Larkin, the late firm 
of Larkin & Stackpole. As President of the Humane So- 
ciety, Mr. Rich wrote the following letter, which will be read 
with interest: 



39© TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Boston, January 15, 1834. 
Mrs. Paine, Widow of Elisha Paine, Jr. 

Dear Madam: — The case of your unfortunate husband with that of Mr. 
John Grozier and Thomas F. Small in endeavoring to rescue the people on 
board the Russian brig Emetine Charlotte, in October last, by which your husband 
lost his life, has been represented to the Humane Society, and a vote passed, 
placing at my disposal fifty dollars for the relief of yourself and children. You 
will have the goodness to acknowledge this letter and authorize some person to 
call on me and receive the money, ft is more than is usually granted by the 
Society to any one, but this is considered a painful case, and although the sum is 
small, it would be gratifying to the Society if it could in any way be placed 
towards the future support of yourself and children. But on this subject you 
can act as you think proper. Wishing you all the consolation that our Holy 
Religion can afford in your widowhood, 

I am, with Respect, your Obt. Servant, 

Benjamin Rich. President of the Humane Society. 

Prominent among the men distinguished in their profession 
was Captain John Collins, who was born in Truro, 1794. 
During the war of 1811-13, he with others ran fishing boats 
from Truro and Provincetown to Boston and New York. The 
bay was infested with British cruisers who were ready to give 
chase and seize the boats. Many young men stung by this 
robbery, entered privateers, and retaliated by preying upon 
British commerce. Young Collins soon found his way on 
board a privateer. Before many days they attacked a ship of 
war, supposing her to be a merchantman, after a hard running 
fight of an hour, they were taken prisoners and carried to Eng- 
land. Returning at the close of the war, he entered the mer- 
chant service and soon became master of a ship running 
between New York and Mexico, next to New Orleans in the 
ship Shakespeare. He then took an interest in the New York 
and Liverpool Dramatic Line. For several years he com- 
manded the ship Roscius, the largest and finest merchant 
ship of her time. While in this command he distinguished 
himself not only as a remarkably successful shipmaster, but for 
his gallantry, skill and humanity in assisting disabled vessels. 
For these signal services he received repeatedly gold and silver 
medals from the Liverpool and London humane societies and 
by the British and American governments. Notable among 
the wrecked vessels relieved were the bark Scotia, the Erin 
go Bragh> and the schooner Garnet of Truro. The particulars 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARING. 391 

of the last will appear under the account of the October gale of 
1 841. Captain Collins superintended the building of the 
largest merchant ships of his day, and when his nephew Edward 
K. Collins began his unfortunate Steam Line, intended as a 
great rival to the English lines, he gave up the Roscius, be- 
came a joint agent in the great enterprise and superintended 
the building of these famous ships. He was a man of fine phys- 
ical proportions, of light complexion, muscular and compact, 
with a full face expressive of quick emotions and decision. 

The above is partly from a notice in Freeman's Cape Cod, 
accompanying which is a fine engraving of Captain Collins, 
which I hoped to present here. Miss Freeman very kindly 
offered the plate, supposing it could be readily found, which, I 
regret to say, we have not been able to do. Captain Collins 
died in New York, November 21, 1857, aged sixty-one years. 
He was the son of Captain John and Delia, or Dilla (Gross). 
He married first Mary, daughter of Captain Caleb and Jemima 
(Dyer) Knowles. The elder Captain John used to be called 
Mark Anthony, referring to a brig he used to command, to 
distinguish him from others of the same name. An elder son 
was Captain Israel Gross, who married in London, or Liverpool, 
Anne Knight, and brought her a bride to his father's house in 
Truro. In Mr. Damon's Register I find, " January 31, 1803, 
Mary Ann Collins, in the 21st year of her age, wife of Captain 
Israel Gross Collins — a person of an amiable disposition and 
of good education. " 

She is represented to have been a beautiful and accom- 
plished lady, a clever performer on the spinet, an instrument 
she brought with her. She left an only child, Edward Knight 
Collins, born in June, 1802. His father sailed from New York, 
where the son went when a young man. In about 1835 he 
established the famous Dramatic Line of New York and Liv- 
erpool packets, among which were the Roscius, Garrick, etc., 
the best and largest merchant ships of that day on the ocean. 
In 1850-51 the "Collins' Steam Mail Line," the first At- 
lantic Steam Line in America, was established. The Atlantic, 
Pacific, Baltic, Arctic, and others of this fleet, were the largest 
and best equipped vessels then ever built. 



392 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The history of this unfortunate line of packets, in which 
the American people were so much interested, which 
Government had subsidized, and the ill-fated career of the 
Arctic and Pacific, are still fresh in the public mind. It has 
thus far proved the death-knell to American ocean steam 
navigation. Mr. Collins died in Brooklyn, January 22, 1878. 
He was the first vice-president of the Cape Cod Association, 
organized in 1856. His son, or a son of Captain John, E. 
B. Collins, was president in i860. 

In Gleasori s Pictorial of 1854 there appeared a fine wood 
engraving of Mr. Collins, also of the Atlantic, all of which 
were destroyed by the great Boston fire of 1872, or I should 
here have reproduced the same. 

Captain Joshua Atkins, born in Truro in about 1785, was 
early engaged in the Labrador fishing, making a market in 
Europe. He thereby formed business acquaintances in New 
York which ultimately led to establishing himself there in 
about 1835. He became a successful merchant. Died in 
Brooklyn, his home, in 1858, leaving a handsome estate. His 
wife was Sally, daughter of Deacon Anthony Snow. Relig- 
iously, Captain Atkins was Unitarian. His sons Joshua and 
Edwin were at one time his partners. Joshua is dead. Ed- 
win is a resident of Brooklyn, retired from active business 1 
Another son, Elisha Atkins of Boston, is well known in busi 
ness and in the management of the Union Pacific Railroad. 

Captain Isaiah M. Atkins, for many years port warden of 
Boston, was a brother of Captain Joshua. He died in Chel- 
sea in about 1865. His son, Isaiah Malcolm, who died a few 
years since at his home in Chelsea, was an annual visitor to 
Truro ; cultivated old associations. He was a man of great 
fidelity in business trusts, and had a large circle of friends. 

Captain Ebenezer, for several years alderman from East 
Boston, John, known as Squire John, and Isaiah, all of whom 
lived in adjoining houses in East Boston, were sons of Cap- 
tain Ebenezer, and were born at the old home in East Har- 
bor. Captain Ebenezer Jr., was in early life a successful 
whaleman in command of the Imogen, through which he en- 
gaged in the oil business. 




pAVtD LOMBARD. 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARING. 395 

Captain Joseph Atkins was among the first of the active 
business men of Provincetown ; I think founded the Central 
Wharf Company. His family was large and influential. 
Many others of the name have been prominent business men 
and good citizens. 

BAKER. 

In 1 8 16 a young man of twenty-one was skipper of a 
pinkey. He was engaged to a young woman and was ex- 
pecting soon to be married. When the fishing season was 
over he took the young lady to Boston in his little fishing 
vessel, for the marriage outfit, as was the custom. As they 
were hauling into the dock, a fine ship, the captain of which 
belonged to Truro, was passed. Calling the lady's attention 
to the ship, he jokingly said, " I would like just such a craft." 
" Why don't you, then ? " she archly replied. That was his 
last fishing voyage. A few weeks later he was a sailor on 
the same ship, and after a few voyages had his ship, and for 
many years was one of the successful shipmasters of Boston. 
Captain Richard Baker was every inch a true sailor and a 
man. His son Richard, born in Truro, of the house of 
Weld, Baker & Company, died a few years since at fifty-two, 
leaving the largest estate, it is stated, ever left in New Eng- 
land not inherited. From the Boston Daily Advertiser : — 

Captain Richard Baker, who died in Charlestown last Sunday, was the last of 
the old sea captains of Boston, who made for the merchant service of the country 
a name and fame. For the past twenty years he has been retired from active ser- 
vice, and upon this retiring he was unanimously appointed a marine inspector 
for the port of Boston, a position which his long experience eminently fitted him 
for. He was a bold sailor, a skilful navigator, and an accomplished, modest 
captain, and it may be said of him that he gave to the world the most successful 
merchant of the present century, Richard Baker Jr., who died two years since, 
after accomplishing what few men dared aspire to, and what few men could have 
brought to a successful issue. 

Captain Elisha Baker, a younger brother of Captain Rich- 
ard, died in New York, where he was engaged in business in 
1862, aged about fifty-five. He was an intelligent gentleman 
and an active business man. 



396 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

LOMBARD. 

Lombard : — In Mr. Damon's Register appears the follow- 
ing notice: "February 8, 1817, James Lombard, aged nearly 
48 years. " His wife was Hannah Snow, daughter of David, 
who was taken from his boat and carried a prisoner to Eng- 
land, as herein stated. 

Captain David Lombard, of whom the accompanying en- 
graving is a good likeness, was born November 9, 1796 ; is the 
only living representative of this large family, and one of the 
oldest men in town. He married December 10, 1820, Anna 
Gross Lombard, a widow of his elder brother James. She 
died October, 1879, aged seventy-nine She was a crown to 
her husband, a blessing to her home and society. 

The children by this marriage are James, born February 4, 
1823, died December, 1878, at Somerville. Left wife and 
children. David Jr., born October 9, 1825, a bachelor, now 
lives in Truro. Lewis, born November 18, 1827, married Me- 
hitable A. Stevens ; lives in East Somerville. Malvina A., 
born November 2, 1829, married Nathaniel Harding, now his 
widow, lives in Truro. Angelia M., born October 26, 183 1, 
married Horace A. Hughes ; both deceased: Benjamin Jr., 
born May 30, 1836, married 1858, in Greggsville, 111., the eldest 
child of Benjamin Lombard Sr. ; resides in Galesburg. 

The prominence of a majority of men in town and country 
depends upon their official capacity in civil and religious re- 
lations, or upon some accidental business patronage. A history 
of mediocrity prominent men could all be written from the 
same text. Men of strong party or sectarian leanings are apt 
to have strong sectional bias, and strong and weak points, of 
whom much good may be said and not a little evil. They 
have firm friends and bitter foes. Here is a man full of years 
and friends ; a landmark in the history of the town for more 
than threescore years ; that never held an office civil or re- 
ligious ; that never belonged to a church ; that was never on 
the popular side in politics ; that controls no business and asks 
nothing from the public. It is safe to say that no other man 
has ever contributed to the town so much in all that consti- 



SEAFARING AND LAND FARING. 397 

tutes a valuable citizen. Amid the perils and discouragements 
of the town he has never wavered in faith or allegiance. I 
question if there has ever been money enough outside to tempt 
him to leave the old town. He has honored the sanctuary, 
always been found in his place at public worship and cheer- 
fully contributed towards the support of all church institutions. 
He has liberally encouraged home enterprise and improve- 
ments. A lifelong Democrat, year after year, in the face of 
fearful odds and obloquy, he has marched calmly to the ballot- 
box and deposited his straight Democratic vote. Such con- 
sistency is a jewel. 

Captain Lombard was the first to establish mackerel pack- 
ing in Truro. He carried on the business for many years 
successfully and was largely interested in navigation and in 
the growing enterprise of the town. In a green old age, sur- 
rounded by a devoted family, he waits in peace the summons 
to that land never trod by mortal feet. 

Benjamin Lombard Sr. was the youngest brother of 
David. Born 1S15. The long, even, conservative, contented 
life, and the restless activity, far-reaching enterprise, and 
eventful career of these brothers is in strong contrast. Ben 
jamin's preparation for business was his youthful years at fish- 
ing and a short experience as schoolmaster, when the writer 
was one of his scholars. He went with the first considerable 
delegation from Truro to Illinois in about 1835. He first 
met with indifferent success, but began to prosper in the pur- 
chase of land, and soon became a quite extensive and bold 
operator. While living in Galesburg, he endowed the Lom- 
bard University, then struggling under another name and 
manifold misfortunes. In honor of his timely generosity, his 
name was adopted by the Institution. In about 1862 he 
moved to Chicago and embarked with eager enthusiasm in 
the splendid designs of that city. When Chicago was burned 
in 1 87 1, Mr. Lombard was one of her most substantial and 
successful men. He was president of the Fifth National 
Bank, which he principally founded, was president of insur- 
ance companies, owned the Lombard Building, one of the most 
substantial blocks in the city, was interested in other great 



39 « TRURO— CAPE COD. 

enterprises, and had a princely income. The fire and panic 
soon following, shattered his great estate. In the winter of 
1 88 1, I shared his hospitality at Galesburg, when he narrated 
many of the events of his life, and calmly reviewed the ca- 
lamities that swept away his vast possessions. Mr. Lombard 
died at Chicago, May 19, 1882; was buried in the family lot at 
Mount Auburn. He was twice married ; by his first wife he 
leaves Mrs. Benjamin Lombard Jr., Mrs. W. Arnold, and W. 
C. Lombard of Galesburg, and James L.. a banker of Creston, 
Iowa. By his present wife, two boys ; Benjamin and Charles. 
Other brothers of this family deserve mention. Captain 
Lewis, an honorable and most substantial citizen, died at 
Truro, May, 1879, aged about seventy-five years ; and Josiah, 
who with Marshal Ayers established the firm of Ayers & 
Lombard in Greggsville, 111., later moved to Chicago and 
founded the Fourth National Bank of Chicago, now the Na- 
tional Bank of America, of which Isaac G. Lombard is presi- 
dent. Mr. Lombard died at New York, 1877, aged sixty-four. 
The house of Ayres & Lombard of New York is conducted 
by the sons of the old firm. 

Binney and Israel Lombard, came to Boston when young 
men. Binney died in early manhood, leaving a good name, a 
moderate estate and an only son, the late Israel 2d of New- 
ton. Israel, with Mr. Charles O. Whitmore, established the 
house of Lombard & Whitmore, long and favorably known. 
In connection with their early business they carried on a 
branch of fishing and outfitting at Commercial Point, and 
built a number of first-class vessels, among which may be 
remembered the Dorchester, Neponset and Squantum. Some 
of the best fishermen of Truro were in their employ. 

ISAAC SNOW GROSS 

Men are bold, brave, energetic, capable, persistent, religious, 
maybe ; but they are moody, or sullen, or morbid, or 
crabbed, or melancholy, or proud. While fortune smiles 
they will continue to be civil to those who smile upon 
them. There are comparatively few men that step bravely 




ISAAC SNOW GROSS. 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARTNG. 401 

out into the rugged paths of life, with an ever cheerful 
heart, and a strong arm to meet its changing fortunes, 
with a good grace. I might say few meet even the 
bright side of life with a good grace. Few men are born that 
have pushed their way through the world by sheer persistent 
energy, and met all its conditions with such a cheerful heart 
and ready hand as the man whose name stands at the head of 
this notice. He was the son of Captain Jaazaniah (mention 
of whom will be found in the life of Rev. Mr. Damon), and 
Anna (Lombard) Gross, born October i, 1803, married 
April 8, 1823, Betsey, daughter of Captain Ebenezer 
and Azubah (Hinckley) Davis, in whose life have been beauti- 
fully blended the true Christian, wife, and mother. 

Mr. Gross followed the trade of a carpenter, at home, till 
1835, when, with a number of the enterprising young men of 
Truro, he moved to Illinois. He began merchandizing in 
Perry, Pike County, and built the first frame house in Perry. 
The hard times of '37 fell with crushing force upon that part 
of the West. Mr. Gross returned to Truro, and soon after was 
elected to the Legislature, about which time he moved to 
Boston. In 1841 he engaged in business in Quincy Market, 
which he pursued with success and unabated activity till he 
drew near to the close of life. In 1853 he moved to Somer- 
ville, where he resided till his death, April 16, 1873, sur- 
rounded by the comforts of life, and a large circle of relatives 
and friends. In these few lines are gathered the labors of a 
long and busy life, clustering with a rich share of generous 
sympathies, ardent attachments, and unchanging friendships. 
His children are Jaazaniah, born in Truro, April 8, [824, suc- 
cessor to his father's business, and a resident of Somerville ; 
Sarah Elizabeth, born August 28, 1831, married Horace P. 
Hemenway, M. D., of Somerville ; Mary Ann, born in Illinois, 
died in Truro, aged four years. 

CAPTAIN LEVI STEVENS. 

[From the San Francisco Bulletin, Nov. 27, 1882.] 

Flags are floating at half-mast at the Merchants' Exchange and other public 
buildings to-day in respect to the memory of Capt. Levi Stevens, who died at 



4 o2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Fruitvale yesterday morning. Born at Truro, Mass., and reared in common 
with most of the young men of that locality to follow the sea, he very early 
acquired a command and followed the calling most successfully, until in his 
early prime he left his ship on one of her early voyages to this port and shortly 
after assisted in establishing the house of Stevens, Baker & Co., of which he 
remained the honored senior to the end. During his active business career he 
was noted for his enterprise, untiring industry and firm integrity. He was pure 
in thought, manner and speech. His influence was gentle, harsh words from 
his lips being unknown. He wished all his fellowmen well, never harboring or 
expressing unkind thoughts towards any one. He possessed a marked anc 
active sympathy for all those in distress and was for a long time a very efficient 
president of the San Francisco Benevolent Association. 

In his relations to his family, of whom he leaves a widow and two grief- 
stricken daughters, he was most affectionate, generous, sympathetic and kind. 
Indeed, in all relations of life was one of Nature's true gentlemen. 

[From the San Francisco Alia.~\ 
We notice with regret the death of Capt. Levi Stevens, of the firm of Stevens, 
Baker & Co. Capt. Stevens came here as master of the ship Southern 
Cross, arriving on Sept. 22d, 1852, when he resigned command and started in 
business, and has continued ever since as one of our principal merchants. 
There were few in the community more universally esteemed than the deceased 
gentleman, as he was always an earnest advocate of all matters appertaining to 
the public good, and it will be long before we shall see his like again. 

[From the Oakland Tribune, the home of Capt. Stevens.] 
The funeral of Capt. Levi Stevens took place this afternoon at two o'clock, 
from the Hamilton Street Church, Rev. H. Stebbins officiating. The attendance 
was very large and the floral tributes were numerous and beautiful. The fu- 
neral sermon was an impressive and fitting tribute to the memory of a worthy 
man and good citizen. 

The following acted as bearers : Hon. M. C. Blake^ mayor of San Francisco, 
T. L. Barker, W. W. Montague, R. G. Sneath, Michael Castle, D. B. Hinckley, 
P. F. Marston, R. G. Bugbee. 

Other notices testify to the character and position of Cap- 
tain Stevens in his adopted home. A brief reference to his 
early life is only necessary to so complete a manhood. His 
training and education was no different from other boys of 
his time. He was born in 18 12. I presume he went a fish- 
ing or tended salt-works when ten years of age and acquired 
his education from the district school three months a year till 
perhaps eighteen. When about twenty-one he began his 
career in the merchant service at the foot of the ladder, but 
soon found his way up. He married in about 1836, Olive 
White, a noble and generous woman. Made his home in Truro 







CAHT. LEVI STKVENS. 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARING. 405 

till about the time of beginning business in San Francisco. 
A marble shaft and two symmetrical mulberry-trees mark the 
dust of their only son and two daughters, who died within a few 
weeks or months of each other. Thev were the first interred in 
the yard known as " Steven's Cemetery," where he built the first 
tomb in Truro. The loss of all their children at that time 
fell with crushing effect and left its mark upon their lives. 

Captain Edmund Burke was many years the popular mas- 
ter of the Boston and Fayal packet Azov, known, while sailing 
under the British flag, as Fredonia. On New Year's Day, 
1866, on his passage to Boston, in latitude 41, longitude 53, 
discovered the ship Gratitude, with two hundred and seventy- 
five passengers from Liverpool to New York, in a sinking con- 
dition. After learning her condition, Captain Burke threw 
overboard his between-decks' cargo, and transferred every soul, 
including women and children, safely on board his bark. 

Owing to the large number, they were obliged to be put 
upon an allowance of bread, water, and oranges. They ar- 
rived in Boston Sunday, the 14th. The arrival in mid-winter 
of a shipload of half-starved and suffering men, women, and 
children, produced no small excitement. The city govern- 
ment took charge of the passengers, and nothing was spared 
'.oward their comfort. 

Captain Burke found himself a hero. He had done only 
what every man ought to do, and what every humane man 
would do ; but he had done his duty with an indifference to 
the results which might have proved disastrous to his business 
mterests. In consideration thereof the merchants of Boston, 
m recognition of his noble conduct, generously contributed, 
and presented him, the sum of five thousand dollars. The 
British government presented him with a chronometer watch, 
suitably engraved. Generous and sympathetic the Captain 
may be, but possibly he may have the fear of consequences 
before his eyes, and sometimes allows his better impulses to 
be overruled by a craven spirit. To all such the history of 
Captain Burke is a noble example of untrammeled generosity, 
and its reward. He moved from Truro to Somerville, where 
he died, 1876, aged fifty-three. 



406 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

ISAAC RICH. 

Deacon John Rich, born 1665, in Eastham, who married 
Mary, daughter of Reverend Samuel Treat, and Richard, the 
first of the great Truro family, were brothers. John settled 
in that part of Eastham now known as Wellfleet. From his 
eldest son Robert we pass on just one hundred years through 
four generations to the fourth Robert, born 1778, married 
1800, Eunice Harding. From this marriage was born Oc- 
tober 21, 1 80 1, Isaac. The father died in 1820, leaving six 
sons and five daughters. Their house stood about half a mile 
westerly from the South Wellfleet depot. If it is a good start 
to be born poor, Isaac started with a good capital. 

I can learn nothing of his boyhood. Boys as poor as Isaac 
Rich don't have much boyhood. It is childhood and man- 
hood. Captain Joe Higgins, a neighbor, a considerate man, 
and perhaps a relative to his mother, gave the boy his passage 
to Boston. When he landed, he was probably fifteen or six- 
teen years old. A Wellfleet oysterman furnished him an ex- 
ceedingly small amount of money, which he invested in fresh 
codfish, and taking his whole stock in his hands, commenced 
business. Soon as possible, he bought a wheelbarrow, which 
he stocked with fish, and moved his market from house to 
house among the poorer class of people near the wharves. 
His next venture was a handcart. 

In winter evenings, and sometimes on cold days, he bagged 
oysters through the streets. Once, as he was trudging along 
crying " Oys ! oys ! buy any oys ! " a young man either through 
ignorance or malice, threatened him with a drubbing if he 
didn't shut up. Isaac lay down his bag, caught the fellow 
and rubbed his face in the hard snow till he cried for quarter. 
Some years later, when he began to make his mark among 
the market fishermen, somebody asked, " What kind of a 
looking fellow is Rich ? " This was the answer : " You go 
down on to Commercial Wharf early in the morning, and the 
most imperdentist man you see there, will be Isaac Rich." If 
this was true, it was as true that he was also the most modest- 
t'st of men. In this poise of character — this measuring of 



SEAFARING AND LANDFARING. 409 

himself and even balancing, lay his strength. He probably 
never studied the Greek oracle, " Know thyself," but few men 
ever practised it better. The most venturesome of men, he 
never ventured beyond his depth in trade, in conversation, or 
in any department of life. 

If the boldest and loudest on the market or wharf, he was 
docile and unaffected in social life. If dogmatic and arbitrary 
in driving a bargain, he was affable and courteous in the 
every-day walks of life. A ready and sharp talker, he never 
ventured to express himself in public. A dictator in the 
realm of business which he understood, he sat a humble list- 
ener wherever knowledge was dispensed. His voice was 
often heard in the committee room or caucus, but never in 
the forum. A chanener for quarter cents on the wharf, he 
gave like a prince where his sympathies were enlisted by an 
intuitive or systematic sense of fitness, along certain lines, 
towards an objective point. He said in practice, "Don't waste 
powder on every noise you hear in the bushes, but wait till 
you see game worth your fire." 

His social and religious life was marked by the same lines. 
His mother belonged to the Methodist Church, was a sensible, 
Christian woman. He sought her church and people ; they 
welcomed him to their humble sanctuary with a cordial Chris- 
tian grasp. They welcomed him as a poor boy, not as the 
founder of a great university, whose fame should fill the land. 

As wealth and position increased, he clung to the Church 
of his mother and the plain sanctuary, and the plain people 
who gave him a kind hand, when he had nothing to give. 
The Church and people that had lifted him up should in turn 
be lifted up by him. Unlettered, he was the patron of learn- 
ing and the associate c{ scholars. Untravelled, he read the 
letters and listened with delight to those who saw the world 
through his liberality. 

He never paraded his wealth, but quietly and becomingly 
accepted the changed conditions of life. He sought no new 
social channels or friends. To the last he was faithful and 
attentive to those whom he had best known in his youth and 
obscurity. It is not on account of his large fortune, or his 



41 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

humble beginning that the name of Isaac Rich has received 
so much attention. There are men who make more money 
in a year than he made in a long life of close application and 
economy ; and there are men dying every week who leave 
more property, whose names are scarcely mentioned. But it 
is the character of the man, and the use he made of his 
property, that has attracted attention, I do not hesitate to 
say, around the Christian world. 

By will, nearly the whole of his estate was given in trust 
for the endowment of the Boston University. The largest 
amount I think ever devised in this country by one individual 
towards a single enterprise. This magnificent endowment by 
no means indicated great liberality. I do nor think Mr. Rich 
was so much a liberal as a sagacious man. He built wisely. 
Few have done as well, none better. He could not carry his 
estate beyond the grave. He had no children or grandchil- 
dren. His own people were well-advanced in life and required 
only a limited amount, which he provided ; more than this 
would have been unwisdom. So he built his monument in the 
Boston University, which as well could have borne his own 
name ; another instance of his delicacy of feeling and far-see- 
ing sagacity, discriminating between the influence of a private 
and a public name. In carefully amassing, guarding and 
directing this great work, it is not impossible he left some 
Christian claims unmet. 

Mr. Rich was rather under the usual size : symmetrical, 
graceful, and of rare personal beauty. He dressed with great 
care, neatness and taste. We have stated that he was born 
in Wellfleet, but through his business, was well-known to 
everybody in Truro, where his wife, Sarah Andrews, known 
in her youth as Sally Andrews, was born, in 1803. There are 
several men and women now living who were her associates at 
school and church and remember incidents in her early life. 
Mr. Andrews, her father, sold his house in about 1820 or '21, to 
Nehemiah Rich, and moved to Boston, where she was shortly 
afterwards married. They had a large family, all of whom 
died comparatively young; one daughter only was married, 
who died childless. 




YOUNG MEN'S STUDY. 

JACOB SLEEPER HALL— BOSTON UNIVERSITY. 

DEPARTMENTS. 

College of Liberal Arts, — 12 Somerset St., — W. E. Huntington, Ph.D. Dean. 

College of Music, — Franklin Square, — Eben Tourjee, Mus. D. . . . Dean. 

College of Agriculture, — Amherst, Mass., — J. C. Greenough, A. M. . Pres. 

School of Theology, — 36 Bromfielcl Street, — J. E. Latimer, S. T. D. . Dean. 

School of Law, — 36 Bromfield Street, — E. H. Bennett, LL.D. . . . Dean. 

School of Medicine, — East Concord Street, — I. T. Talbot, M. D. . . Dean. 

School of All Sciences, — 12 Somerset Street, — W. F. Warren, LL. D. Dean. 




YOUNG LADIES STUDY. 



SEAFARING AND LAND FAR TNG, 413 

MATTHIAS RICH. 

The men who make cities, come from diverging paths in 
life, each having in themselves much of interest by contrast. 
Given fifty years ago fifty men from the Cape, it would be safe 
to say, "Till ten, in summer — a barefoot boy, tough, wide 
awake — hoes, clams, fishes, swims, gjas to the red school- 
house taught by the village schoolmarm. After ten, on board 
a fishing vessel cooking for nine or ten men; at thirteen a 
hand ; goes to the same schoolhouse three months or less 
every winter till seventeen or eighteen ; graduates. At twenty- 
one, marries ; goes skipper ; twenty-five buys a vessel and 
builds a house, or has been looking around in the world to 
make a change. Whatever may be the experiences of aftei 
life, the early history of Cape Cod boys could be summed sub- 
stantially as stated. 

Matthias Rich, whose name heads this paper, and of whom 
a perfect portrait is here presented, is the fourth generation 
of that name, and the fifth from Richard, the first settler of 
Truro ; is the son of Captain Matthias and Delia Pike, born 
June 8, 1820. At twelve he commenced his education as cook 
of a fisherman ; attended the red schoolhouse at Longnook, 
when Captain Barnabas Paine, that prince of ye ancient school- 
masters, taught reading, writing, cyphering and the ten com- 
mandments. At eighteen attended the Murray Institute and 
Normal School at Gloucester. At nineteen was skipper of a 
fisherman and taught school at Provincetown. In 1841, he 
married Sarah Ann, daughter of Joshua and Mary (Polly) 
Knowles, possessed of womanly and wifely qualifications es- 
sential to a cheerful home ; was a member of the Truro School 
Board when the new districts and schoolhouses were first 
agitated. When sailing out of Gloucester in 1844, introduced 
manilla cables, which have long since superseded hemp. 

In 1846 he concluded to make teaching a profession, and 
entered the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham as a student. 
The result of that influence marked and shaped his future 
career. He came to Boston in 1847 an ^ engaged in the 
grocery business in which he still continues. The first seven 



4 i4 TRURO— CAPE cnn 

years in Boston he was superintendent of Father Streeter's 
Sunday-school at North End, then one of the large schools of 
thecity. From 1857 to 1871 hewas most of the time connected 
with the city government, part of the time an active member 
of the School Board and several years in the Common Coun- 
cil. In 1871 he was elected president of the Council. It 
was a year of great responsibility and labor, which with his 
private business so impaired his health that he was obliged to 
resign all public work at a time when the path seemed fairly 
open to more honorable positions. Mr. Rich carried to his 
public duties the best of qualifications, and discharged them 
with conscientious fidelity that secured the full confidence of 
his fellow citizens. No man was better acquainted with the 
business of the city government, or better understood its 
growing influence and commanding position. By years of 
faithful service and industry he acquired familiarity with the 
citv institutions and the various departments, with their 
requirements, incumbents and necessary appropriations, just 
as men do with their own business. 

His connection with the School Committee covered a long 
term, during which many new features were added and large 
outlays required. New measures were introduced and radi- 
cal changes made during these years. Larger schoolhouses' 
were built, great attention was paid to ventilation, improved 
school furniture and general convenience. The most capable 
teachers were employed at advanced salaries, and the Boston 
Public School system stood without a rival. To him, perhaps, 
more than any other, these important interests were submitted. 
He has been in active fellowship with the Universalist Church, 
during his business life, being at present a deacon of the 
Church of the. Redeemer in Chelsea. Of his children, Matilda 
E., born 1842, at Truro, married Horatio N. Bradstreet, now 
living in New York. William Penn, born at Boston, August, 
1849, a partner with his father. An infant daughter died 
young. Sarah Anna, born 1851. 




MATTHIAS RICH. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
FISHERMEN. 

Yachting. A new Life. A Race. Nobody Beat. Changes. Tom Hood. The Coasl 
Guard's Song. Long Ned. Judy Callaghan. Codfishing. Hygiene and the Banks. 
Shut Up. Saturday Night. The Song of Welcome. Uncle Sam. Ship Mediator. 
Pleasant Memories. Henry Pearce. Sinking of the James Beard. Mackerel. How 
they were caught. High Line. Kings. Commodore. Daniel Clark. Tide Har- 
bor. A Breakwater. River and Harbor Improvements. Union Wharf. Beginning 
of Business. Elisha Newcomb. Beach Speculations. Sea Vandals. Improvements. 
John N. Devereaux. Captain Hinckley. Marine Insurance Company. Surplus 
Revenue. Benevolent Society. Picturesque Speech. A dull Sailor. Mr. Ambrose 
Snow. Mr. William White. Two Pine-trees. 

By this craft we have our wealth. 

YACHTING, including the whole family of aquatic sports, 
has drawn much attention the last few years, both sides 
of the Atlantic. Millions have been staked upon accomplish- 
ing the greatest distance in the shortest time, by sail or oar. 
Many people think with T. W. Higginson, "Sailing is of course 
delicious ; it is as good as flying to steer anything with wings of 
canvas." Ambition to drive four-in-hand vanishes when the 
ribbons are exchanged for the helm. When the hand holds 
the tiller ; when the white foam dashes from the sharp bow 
lines ; when whirling eddies play in the straight wake ; 
when a path never trod by human feet opens at his bidding, 
and a new, strange life opens at his touch, the amateur skip- 
per has conquered a new world. 

The model fisherman keeps his craft snug and taut. He 
has tested her temper and strength through storm and calm. 
He will defend her sea-going and fast-sailing almost with his 

4*7 



4i 8 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

life. A larger fleet and finer manoeuvring have never been 
seen than in a fleet of fishermen. Sometimes three or four 
hundred sail, from forty to perhaps one hundred and forty tons, 
all sea-going, well-equipped and well-manned, haul aft their 
sheets in a freshening breeze to reach a windward harbor. 

Now for a race ! Now she is trimmed to a hair. Now the 
mainsail is swayed till the boom lifts from the saddle, and the 
foresail till the luff bears the goose-neck. Now the sheets are 
hauled to an inch, and the sails are flat as a board and tight 
as a drum-head. Now the best man takes the wheel and the 
steed knows her rider. Some men can get a knot or more, 
just as a favorite mounter at the Derby can get more speed. 
Now like race-horses the leading craft seem to stretch their 
long, lithe bodies, swing their white manes and show their 
silver heels. The heavy craft soon fall to the leeward, the 
moderate ones drop astern. With the fast sailors, the inter- 
est intensifies till the harbor is reached, the freshening gale 
spoils the sport, or night drops the curtain. When they meet 
to compare notes, none will admit that they have been beaten, 
knd as there were no stakes or referees, all agree to try it 
over again the very next chance. 

It must be borne in mind that I am describing the life of a 
generation gone by, and not subject to criticism, owing to the 
many radical changes in the improved equipments and cus- 
toms of fishermen of late years. Deep sea-seining, then un- 
known as applied to catching mackerel, is now almost univer- 
sal. The changes in catching and curing codfish are no less 
radical. 

But I fancy the life on shipboard is not much changed. I 
am surprised to find that the songs and stories to which I 
used to listen as new, when a boy, had, many of them, a beautiful 
antiquity. An old song that I supposed local, but on account 
of its vivid description and rythmic chorus, clung to memory, 
is quoted complete in Tom Hood's Works. It is related in 
his life by his daughter, that during one of her father's visits 
at Brighton, his favorite resort, he became acquainted with an 
old lieutenant of the Coast Guards, from whom he learned 
this odd song, in which he delighted, and wgjs the only one he 



FISHERMEN. 419 

was ever known to sing. It consisted of about twenty verses, 
from which I am tempted to make a quotation : — 

Up jumped the mackerel, 

With his striped back — 
Says he, reef in the mains'l, and haul on the tack, 

For it's windy weather, 

It's stormy weather, 
And when the wind blows pipe all hands together — 
For, upon my word, it's windy weather. 

Up jumped the cod, 
With his chuckle head — 
And jumped into the main chains to heave at the lead,— 
For it's windy weather, etc., etc. 

Up jumped the flounder, 
That swims to the ground — 
Crying, damme, old chuckle head, mind how you sound — 
For it's windy weather, etc. 

An old Irish song has a no less interesting history. It was 
a custom among the fishermen to make up a full complement 
of crew, by hiring men in Boston. Sometimes Portuguese 
from the Azores ; Frenchmen from Bordeaux ; Irishmen from 
County of Cork and Kinsale ; such an one was Ned Owens, 
who had fished many a long night in the red-sail -boats from 
Kinsale. For short, we called him Long Ned. Ned was a 
great fisherman ; the man that could beat him had to do 
some lively work. When fishing was moderate, Ned would 
saw away at his lines with some old Irish chorus as an accom- 
paniment, happy as a lark. But when the fish bit sharply, 
Long Ned, with his long arms, would wind up the fifty fathom 
codlines like a steam reel, and keep a fish coming over the 
rail most all the time. A favorite song with Ned, and one of 
which he never tired, was Judy Gallaghan. I supposed it 
some old Irish ditty, that had perhaps been improvised by the 
fishermen ; albeit, something about it always lingered in 
memory. Judge of my surprise to find it among the odes of 
Horace as "The Sabine Farmers Serenade," and translated 
from the Latin by no less a scholar and critic than the classical 



42 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Father Prout of Watergrass Hill. The first verse of the 
eight is all we can here afford : — 

' Twas on a windy night, 

At two o'clock in the morning, 
An Irish lad so tight, 

All wind and weather scorning, 
At Judy Callaghan's door, 

Sitting upon the palings, 
His love-tale he did pour, 

And this was part of his wailings : — 
Only say 
You'll be Mrs. Brallaghan ; 

Don't say nay, 
Charming Judy Callaghan. 

It was not until the decline of whaling that the Bank, 
Bay of St. Lawrence, and Labrador, or Straits of Belle Isle fish- 
eries pushed regularly. It was then the custom for the crew 
to cure their fish in the fall, and carry them to France, Spain, 
Portugal, and up the Mediterranean, for a market. To fit 
away, catch, cure and find a foreign market, required nearly 
a year. We have before referred to this as being a preparatory 
school from which graduated many of the most successful 
captains in the merchant service. 

Codfishing on the Banks was considered tough work. The 
boy who could graduate from that school with full honors, 
could take care of himself; fight his own battles. It was 
kill or cure ; few, however, were killed ; he was sure to come 
home hale and hearty. As an infallible remedy for almost all 
complaints to which flesh is heir, a Bank voyage, as conducted 
thirty or forty years ago, challenges comparison. The rad- 
ical change of life, the pure, bracing air, the regular labor, 
the sound sleep, the forced temperance and ravenous appe- 
tite are the medicine that will cure when all the mysteries of 
the Materia medica utterly fail. A trip on the Grand Bank, 
and " throw physic to the dogs ! " I have known scores of 
men of various diseases, in various stages, who have made the 
trip, but rarely, if ever, heard of an instance that failed. It is 
understood that I am not speaking of helpless invalids, but 
more particularly of dyspeptics, liver, humorous or cutaneous 



FISHERMEN. 421 

diseases, and pulmonary complaints, in their early stages. I 
made the acquaintance of a gentleman of large fortune, on a 
Cunard packet, who said he had not made a square meal for 
thirty years. I believe a four months' trip to the Grand 
Bank, as a common hand, would enable this poor man to eat 
three square meals a day and look over his shoulder for a 
fourth. Charles Lamb says, " The foolisher the fowl or fish — 
woodcocks, dotterals, cod's heads, etc. — the finer the flesh 
thereof." Perhaps Lamb had eaten a codhead muddle at Old 
Margate Hoy. Who has not eaten a codhead muddle on the 
Banks, has something yet to do in the way of rine eating. 

Going to the Grand Bank meant leaving home in April for 
x three to five months' trip, with no communication till the 
return. It meant besides usual sea casualities, to be shut up 
n the fog, exposed to icebergs and Merimachimen (English 
amber ships), and cut off from the world as if alone on the 
planet. Doctor Johnson said "Going to sea was going to 
orison, with a chance of being drowned besides." A trip to 
.he Grand Bank would have confirmed the old critic's remark. 
Do not imagine, however, that these men felt they were 
prisoners, or even dreamed of being unhappy. It was their 
business, and they were more happy and content than the 
average working man I have met on the land. Day by day, 
and week by week, a more cheerful company, kind, pleasant 
and accommodating, it would be hard to find. Saturday night 
was a happy hour. At sunset the lines were snugly coiled, 
the decks washed, and a single watch set for twenty-four 
hours. Sunday was a day of rest. The bright, unfaltering 
star that never set or dimmed, that robbed the voyage of half 
its discomforts and terrors, was going home. How pleasant 
the anticipation, how glad the welcome, how lavish the store ! 

And are ye sure the news is true ? 

And are ye sure he's weil ? 
Is this a time to think o' work ? 

Make haste, lay by your wheel — 
Is this the time to spin a thread, 

When Colin's at the door? 
Reach down my cloak, I'll to the quay, 

And see him come ashore. 



422 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

And give to me my bigonet, 

My bishop's satin gown, 
For I maun tell the bailie's wife 

That Colin's in the town. 
My Turkey slippers maun go on, 

My stockings pearly blue, 
It's a' to please my own gudeman, 

For he's both leal and true. 

N 

Rise, lass, and make a clean fireside, 

Put on the muckle pot ; 
Gie little Kate her button gown 

And Jock his Sunday coat. — William Julius Mickle. 

I have said the fishermen are shut up for months in the fog 
on the Banks. In the days to which I refer, all Yankees fished 
with hand-lines from the vessel. The crew usually consisted 
of eight hands and the cook : four to each watch ; one watch 
was always at the lines night and day if on fish. To be the 
first on deck after the watch was called, particularly if count- 
ing fish, required hasty toilets. A young, smart fellow, was 
no little chagrined to find uncle Sam, the oldest man on board, 
always ahead. One night the young man was bound to beat. 
He turned in with his boots on, jacket and hat under his head; 
at the first call he rushed out of his berth and on deck to find 
uncle Sam at his lines. The old man had been sleeping like 
the hare, with one eye open, and while his rival went up the 
gangway, he had jumped through the skylight and grabbed 
his lines. 

Sometimes the monotony was relieved by visitors from other 
ships crossing the Banks. I well remember an incident of this 
kind in July, 1841. It was a pleasant day, moderate and 
smooth except the old swell that never goes down on the 
Banks. We lay at anchor near the southern edge, with fair 
fishing. When the fog cleared up about nine o'clock, a large 
ship crowded with emigrants, lay becalmed less than two 
miles off. They soon lowered a quarter boat ; the captain and 
several passengers came on board. She was the New York 
packet ship Mediator, from Liverpool, with a full complement 
of cabin and over five hundred steerage passengers. 

Our visitors were wild with excitement to see the live fish 



FISHERMEN. 423 

come in. They danced and capered around with delight. While 
they were on board the writer caught a sixty-pound halibut as 
handsome as ever taken from the ocean. An enthusiastic 
Englishman could scarcely contain himself in his admiration 
of this fish. Time and time again as the big halibut flounced 
and writhed in the kid, he put his white jeweled hands on the 
snow-white slippery skin, exclaiming, " What a magnificent 
fish ! " We nearly loaded their boat with live codfish and 
the big halibut : they left us a few sovereigns, the London 
and Liverpool papers, hearty good wishes, promised to report 
us as soon as possible, which they did, and joined their ship. 
A breeze soon filled her friendly looking sails, bearing her 
homeward, while the fog folded us as we rolled away at our 
anchor, closer still in its dark pavilion. I have many pleasant 
memories of that Bank trip of twenty-two weeks out of sight 
of land, without one of our crew in the meantime stepping out- 
side of our ark. Our skipper was not a professor of religion, 
but every Sunday night, or afternoon, after our supper of fried 
turnovers, he used to read the Bible, a few hymns were sung, 
and Henry Pearce, a noble Christian young man, used to 
offer prayer. Mr. Pearce was for several years afterwards a 
very successful skipper of the schooner John A. Cook. For 
more than twenty years he has been an Iowa farmer. I would 
walk a weary journey to once more grasp his brawny palm. 
Since writing the above Mr. Pearce has gone to his long 
home. Heman Harvender, of Provincetown, and the writer 
only remain of that crew of '41. 

The following incident that occurred in our family nearly 
seventy years ago, of which we used to hear in our youth, we 
will tell in the old ballad fashion : — 



The rye-fields wave in summer's sun, 

With heavy ears hung low ; 
Next week the stalwart reapers come, 

Their sickles all aglow. 
The James Beard swings short cable scope, 

Abreast of old Cornhill, 
' Twixt Pamet and Great Hollow's slope, 

Waiting the skipper's will. 



4 2 4 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 




SHE CHIDES HER THROBBING HEART. 

• The wind is blowing fair," quoth he, 
" We'll soon reach Sable Capes, 
To-morrow at the Landing be. 

Mind, bring your lucky cakes." 
The fisherman leaves his native strand, 

His wife braves well her part ; 
He watches far the fading land, 

She chides her throbbing heart. 

' Steer east by north — don't let her veer ; 

Must hug Seal Island Rock, 
To hold the wind this time of year," 

Such was the master's talk. 
The summer breeze blew fair and strong, 

Fast flew the fishing bark ; 
While leads, and hooks, and pendants long. 
Were ritrired with skilful ait. 



Now fades the deep-green sea to blue, 
Now sea-fowl wheel to hand, 



FISHERMEN. 425 

The fishers know the azure hue, 

The Banks of Newfoundland. 
: Thirty fathoms on the southern flow, — 

Here are the fish, by Moses ! 
Stand by the anchor — let her go 1 

We are on their noses." 

Watch and watch, by night and day, 

Thus weeks pass swiftly by. 
Now northern gales sweep down the bank 

And swift the white-wings fly. 
To willing hands and steady train, 

The sea gives up her store, 
September days are on the wane — 

The salt is growing lower. 

The fisherman dreams of wife and home, 

He walks his sandy dunes, 
He sees the ancient meeting-house. 

He sings King David's tunes. 
' Al! hands ahoy ! she's sprung aleak ! " 

The watchful skipper cried. 
1 To the pumps, men, and pump for life I 
We're on the ocean wide." 

Nor sturdy arm could intervene 

To save the gallant craft. 
For like the Royal George careened 

She settled fore and aft. 
Good neighbors were the fishing crews, 

They took the shipwrecked men, 
Like old Anchises, bore them back 

To native land again. 

Two of the crew, neighbors well-tried, 

Were landed at the Cape. 
They journeyed home in thoughtful mood 

Discussing creeds and fate. 
They talked of wives and children small 

To meet with empty hand, 
Their fare of fish in Stygian thrall, 

Three hundred leagues from land. 

They talked of luck and Providence, 

Of God's mysterious way — 
'If Indian corn that rip'ning hung 

That bright October day. 



426 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

My father said, " I hope my field 
Like that hangs thick with corn ; 

Our brindle cow will furnish milk, 
We'll weather through the storm." 

Thus conversing, past Tashmuit, 

Where now tourists rally, 
Through the oak-glades clad in russet — 

Lo I our pleasant valley. 
They saw the smoke from chimney tops, 

And ripe corn-fields outlying, 
The red-roofed barn with open door, 

And brindle cow a-dying. 

My father's arms were strong and broad, 

And strong was his endeavor, 
My mother's trust a triple cord. 

Her faith knew no surrender. 
With tearful eyes he raised the latch, 

So bravely mother met him : 
" The Lord is good to bring you home, 

We'll never fail to trust him." 



The mackerel fishery is a modern branch, and did not com- 
mand very much attention till after the War of 1812. Mack- 
erel had been caught around the shores of New England, par- 
ticularly Massachusetts Bay, since the days of old Isaac 
Allerton, of the Pilgrims. They were well known, and 
a great favorite with the Indians, on account of their rich fat- 
ness. " Mackerel catching " did not, like Minerva, leap into 
perfection, but was attained by patient continuance. First, 
by drailing with long booms, much the same as bluefish are 
now hooked. Next, with lines from the boat or vessel under 
moderate headway. Then, "laying to," or a square dead drift, 
throwing bait freely, coying the fish, was found the most suc- 
cessful. By this way, with a moderate breeze, a school could 
sometimes be kept around the vessel for hours. As many 
as one hundred and fifty wash barrels have been caught by 
hook and line at a single drift. Lines, port or starboard, as 
seemed most convenient, was the custom when first "laying 
to" began, but before many years the starboard side only was 
used. A fleet of hundreds of sail, laying to and beating up 



FISHERMEN. 427 

to the windward to keep on the school is a fine marine pict- 
ure. Under these growing improvements the catch rapidly 
increased from 47,000 barrels in 18 18, to 384,000, of 1831, an 
amount not since reached. Undoubtedly some of these pio- 
neer skippers who nursed this great industry into life, as they 
witnessed the surprising facilities and magnitude of the busi- 
ness, which they bequeathed to their sons, felt akin to the 
great cotton lords who bequeathed millions of spindles and 
dollars to establish a family name. As Lord Bacon is made 
to say, "Note the difference of habitudes." "High-Line" is 
the highest degree conferred in this school. It outranks all 
others. Stewart and Vanderbilt were only high-line. When 
a millionaire, an old man and childless, was good-naturedly 
reproved for sticking so close to his business, and making 
sharp bargains, he replied, with the old fire in his eyes, " I 
want them fellows to know I ain't going to be beat." The 
fishermen of Truro were among the first to follow the mack- 
erel business, and to the present, about two generations, there 
have always been some "high-lines," or leaders of the fleet 
from this town. Other places have had great fishermen who 
enjoyed for a few years a high reputation — real champions, 
but Truro has had a remarkable succession of leading or 
lucky skippers. I know of no time during hooking days, 
when some of her skippers were not acknowledged kings. 
A thousand white sails are on the ocean, all in hot pursuit of 
mackerel. Perhaps five hundred sail are in sight; they are 
bound to no port ; there is no commodore, and not a word of 
agreement or command given, indicated or accepted ; all are 
free as the wind ; yet by some unknown law or force, this im- 
mense fleet accept a leader, and move and manoeuvre as if the 
broad pennon was floating at his mast head. Ostensibly this 
leadership is not admitted or intimated, as there is no defer- 
ence whatever, but the fact as a rule is plain as sunlight. 

In the palmy days of hooking, the lines were sharp-drawn ; 
not only between the lucky and unlucky skippers, but on board 
the vessels, every man and boy was measured presumably by 
his ability to catch mackerel. All other accomplishments and 
distinctions miserably perished. An average share was the 



428 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

standard, but in every well-drilled crew, there was most always 
some smart fishermen high-line, who would catch nearly two 
shares, and a low line, who could scarcely catch half a share. 
Nor did it end here ; these respective merits were well known 
at home and sometimes entered the social relations. Many a 
youth who would not be counted a second-class fisherman, be- 
came a first-class shipmaster or merchant, while possibly the 
high-line hung to his hooks. 

Then up and spake an old sailor, 
Had sailed to the Spanish main : — 

I pray thee put into yonder port. 
For I fear a hurricane. 

About the year 1825, Daniel Clark, a young man belonging 
to Truro, having finished his fishing, made a trip to Liverpool 
before the mast, in the ship Nezv England. On the homeward 
passage to Boston, when between the Capes, a northeast snow- 
storm set in. The ship was put under close reefs on the port 
tack. Clark kept both eyes open ; soon as an opportunity of- 
fered, he told the captain that if he kept his ship on that tack 
she would be on the rocks before twelve o'clock. The captain 
at first tried to stand on his dignity, but soon found Clark 
knew what he was talking about, and was glad to follow his 
advice, and thereby, as he afterwards acknowledged, saved his 
ship. Clark was one of those fellows who, going to school 
three months in a year and never known to study, knew more 
than the schoolmaster. He experienced religion when a young 
man, and could talk more eloquently and persuasively than the 
minister, and sing like an angel, if angels sing. Physically, he 
was a fine specimen of the genus homo. Tall, well-shaped and 
athletic, graceful and handsome. It is said he was strong as 
a lion, and limber as a cat ; that he could out-climb, out-jump, 
out-lift, out-fish, out -wrestle, out-sing, out-talk and generally 
out-do all competitors. He was proud, impulsive, imperious ; 
generous and improvident. He early married a lovely young 
woman, and soon after engaged in the merchant service. After 
an absence of two years, he visited for a few weeks his family 
for the last time. He never again visited Truro, or his wife 



FISHERMEN. 429 

and children, nor contributed to their support. Would you 
know further of this man with the talents of Altamont ? The 
following inscription tells one side of his history : — 

In Memory Of 

Hope, 

Wife of Daniel Clark, 

Died July 26, 1834, Aged 25 Years. 

When the Pilgrims discussed the question of settlement on 
board the Mayflower after two visits to Truro, a majority de- 
cided that the principle objection was a tide-harbor. A tide- 
harbor has been an objection and an unspeakable drawback from 
that day. It was this fact that delayed business from being 
done at home so many years. Great efforts were made from 
time to time to improve the harbor, and had proper influences 
been reached the desired work might have been done by Gov- 
ernment, as in scores of other instances of less importance. 

In 1794 Dr. Freeman says, "The situation of Pamet Har- 
bor is such as justly claims attention, and if repaired, would 
be of public utility. A wharf (or pier) sixty yards in length, 
fourteen feet wide on the ground, and sharp on the top, and 
ten feet in height, would make a safe and good harbor ; and 
by estimation would cost, built of timber and filled up with 
stones, but eighteen hundred and fifty dollars. Though the 
top of the wharf would be covered at highwater, yet it would 
break the sea in twelve or thirteen feet of water." The idea 
discussed in Dr. Freeman's time, though on a modest scale, 
was undoubtedly the true plan. In 1839 the Truro Break- 
water Company was incorporated. The purpose of this com- 
pany was to build a stone breakwater in sufficient depth of 
water to afford a harbor at all times. Wharves were to have 
been built inside for packing and outfitting. A petition was 
presented to Congress asking for a moderate appropriation to 
this much needed improvement. Failing to secure an appro- 
priation, the company found a lamentable grave If a larger 
amount had been asked, and the application had been pushed 
by liberal and persistent effort, there is reason to believe it 
might have been secured. It would have been of incalculable 



430 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

advantage to the town besides a permanent roadstead for ves- 
sels falling to the leeward when entering Cape Cod Bay. 

Previous to 1830, the custom had been for the Truro skip- 
pers to sail mostly in vessels belonging to other ports, doing 
all their business away from home ; building up other places. 
Discriminating men saw the opportunity to benefit themselves 
and their neighbors. Their enterprise was well timed and 
most commendable. The initiatory movement was building 
the Union Wharf on the south side of the river, in 1830. This 
was clone by filling tight bulkheads with gravel from a hill 
hard by. The wharf was several hundred feet on the river, 
and an immense tonnage of sand had to be moved. Perhaps no 
enterprise that required so much hard stubborn work, was 
ever accomplished with so much esprit de corps. The stock 
was divided into fifty or more shares ; no individual, I think, 
could have over one share, and each stockholder could wheel 
his proportion of sand. A committee was appointed to super- 
intend the work, and to see that there was no shirking. Among 
the company were young men of mercurial temperament who 
meant fun at most any price ; to do so at the expense of dig- 
nity or good order was no sacrifice. They were willing to 
work harder than wheeling sand, to have the reputation of 
shirking, for the sake of defending themselves, or fastening 
the charge by presumptive evidence upon some good, honest, 
hard-working man who felt that neglecting his duty was nearly 
a crime. They lampooned the committee or some over officious 
individuals, in excrutiating doggerel that followed them to their 
graves. They furnished excitement and amusement during 
the winter, pleased themselves, shortened many long faces 
and many hours of toil. The work went bravely on, was well 
done, and for years paid a handsome dividend. 

In 1832, Elisha Newcomb, a man of enterprise, built a 
dwelling-house, flake-yard and packing-sheds on the beach 
known as Newcomb's Point, where he commenced business. 
Several other dwellings were built on this Point ; it seemed 
quite a promising locality. All of the houses have been re- 
moved, some of them to East Boston. About this time several 
houses were built on Beach Point ; the children attended school 



FISHERMEN. 431 

at High Head. Thomas Fields Small told the writer that he 
had seen upwards of forty scholars gathered in his large kitchen 
where the school was held. The town was considering build- 
ing a schoolhouse there. The low sandy points, with a bunch 
of beach-grass here and there, were in demand, and considerable 
speculation therein, as many thought they would become the 
principal settlements of the town. The Bay mackerel fishing 
which continued many years, and could be followed success- 
fully in boats, if the fishermen lived on the tide, was the real 
cause of these seashore settlers. Long Point and Wood End 
were large settlements with schoolhouses, a church, salt works 
and stores. Different causes have been assigned for the de- 
parture of the mackerel that used to abound in the Bay during 
the summer season. In an old Nantucket record is the fol- 
lowing : " Frcyn the first coming of the English to Nantucket, 
a large fat fish called bluefish, thirty of which would fill a 
barrel, were caught in abundance, all around the Island, from 
the first of the sixth month to the middle of the ninth. But it 
is remarkable that in the year 1764, the year in which the 
sickness ended, all disappeared, and none have been taken 
since." These vandals of the ocean did not again make their 
appearance for more than seventy-five years. For several 
years they were scattering, and were found mostly in the old 
haunts of their pre-Revolutionary ancestors around Nan- 
tucket. Later they doubled Cape Cod, found their way into 
the Bay and drove out the mackerel, since which time the 
mackerel are only found early and late in the season. 

In 1835, John Smith, a leading citizen, built the first out- 
fitting store in Truro. It stood near the northeasterly corner 
of the South Wharf, where the Old Colony railroad now crosses. 
The same year David Lombard commenced packing mackerel 
on the South Wharf. The North Wharf, on Snow's Point, 
directly opposite, was built about this time. Captain Michael 
Snow, and Deacon Daniel Paine, both active and capable men, 
opened an outfitting store and packing establishment on this 
wharf in 1836. The same season Elkanah Paine 2d, a popu- 
lar young skipper, built a large store on the south side. Busi- 
ness was now well underway, and most all branches of trade 



432 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

that belong to vessels and supplies soon gathered. Captain 
Eben N. Hinckley, associated with John N. Devereaux, of 
Boston, opened a sail loft. The skippers of that day were as 
particular about the cut and fit of their sails as a fashionable 
woman of her sails. Devereaux's sails fitted without a 
wrinkle, and balanced to a hair. No handsomer sails were 
seen than those worn by the Truro fleet. Captain Hinckley 
afterwards carried on the business, and sustained the reputa- 
tion. 

The Truro Marine Insurance Company was incorporated in 
the winter of 1840-41. The stockholders were mostly men of 
small means, who gave their notes for nearly the amount 
of their subscriptions. The great October gale of the same 
year ruined the company. The stockholders were obliged to 
pay the face of their notes without receiving a single divi- 
dend. After a second year of baffled fortune, the company 
was wound up with a full loss of the capital stock, all of which 
belonged in town. Since that time several companies have 
been formed in the neighboring towns on the same basis, 
which proved little mints to the lucky stockholders. This 
year (1840) cart-bridges were built across Great and Little 
Pamet Rivers. These were the result of years of discussion 
and much eloquence in the annual townmeetings. 

When the surplus revenue was received in 1838, the town 
being then free from debt, it was voted to loan the same. 
Though all due diligence and discrimination was intended, 
both principals and endorsers slipped out, and those faithful 
guardians of the town's trust, the selectmen, had occasion to 
exclaim with Byron, " Where are those martyred saints the 
five per cents. ? " The " Truro Benevolent Society " was 
incorporated in 1835. By the constitution, membership is 
conditioned by a small annual payment. In case of sickness 
or death a certain amount is paid to the family. This society 
has been well administered, has accomplished much good, 
and is still in a flourishing condition, having twelve hundred 
dollars in the treasury. 

A late Boston journal correspondent writing from Truro 
and Provincetown, says of the people : — 



FISHERMEN. 



433 



In dialect, in manner, in their sturdy independence, their picturesque and 
colored methods of speech, and their love of grim humor, they are essentially 
Yankee. They have the breadth and generosity of language which is always 
accredited to the dwellers by the sea. There is a sort of poetry in it. 

In conversation with a gentleman now in the sere and 
yellow leaf as regards age, but flourishing like a green bay- 
tree in youthful memories, he said, " I was once coasting in a 
vessel that would sail well free of the wind, but on a close 
haul I was ashamed to be seen on deck. Uncle Naylor was 
my mate ; I always called him Mr. Hatch. One morning 
when a head wind had us at full disadvantage, and common 
sailing vessels were passing us like steamboats, I ventured 
out of the gangway and said, ' Mr. Hatch, how does she go 
along?' He promptly replied, 'By the Prophets' nippers, 
Skipper, when you can see her wake out of the weather 
hawse-hole, I call it a gallbuster ! ' " 

I quote this as an illustration of the " picturesque and 
colored methods of speech." A few years since a young man 
from Boston, of good family and education, was visiting 
Truro for the first time. He was delighted with all he saw 
and heard, particularly with certain shades of expression 
which excited his curiosity. When he asked the meaning 
thereof, his friends referred him to Ambrose's Dictionary. 
After musing a moment, the young man replied, " I have 
heard of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, of whom James 
Russell Lowell wrote, — 

Never surely was holier man 

Than Ambrose, since the world began; 

With diet spare and raiment thin, 

He shielded himself from the father of sin, 

but I didn't know he was a lexicographer." Our story 
concerns not St. Ambrose who built a perfect faith, but Mr. 
Ambrose Snow, who with remarkable versatility of accomplish- 
ments, made no pretentions to saintship. Mr. Snow was born 
in 1788 ; was son and grandson of the Davids, father and son, 
who were carried prisoners to England, as narrated in these 
pages. Ambrose was a buoyant, wide awake, daring young 



434 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

man, hopeful, and of great expectations full. During the cold 
storm in January, 1806, known in New England as the "Cold 
Friday,'' the vessel on which Mr. Snow was one of the crew, 
was blown out of Harpswell Harbor, and all hands were 
severely frost-bitten. It was the coldest day then ever known 
on the Cape, six degrees below zero. Just fifty years after, 
in January, 1856, it was nine degrees below. Mr. Snow was 
sent to the hospital, and after months of suffering, he came 
forth at the age of nineteen, a cripple for life, but hopeful and 
reliant. At this time he was engaged to Miss Pratt of Co-- 
hasset. Realizing his changed condition and prospects, he 
wrote to the lady, releasing her from the engagement. Friends 
and neighbors said, " As Mr. Snow has lost his legs, you will 
now give him up." She replied, " Legs or no legs, I will not 
give him up." The result of this maidenly decision was a 
thriving family of seven daughters and five sons. One oi 
these, Captain Ambrose Snow of Wellfleet, has been more 
than fifty years an energetic and successful skipper. He has, 
or has had at one time, six sons masters of first-class fishing 
craft, without exhausting the stock of boys. Their vessels 
are called the " Snow-Birds. " 

Mr. Snow of our sketch had a handsome, almost pure Gre- 
cian-cut face. He was neat in person, engaging in manners, 
mellifluous in voice, fluent in speech, and vivid in imagination. 
Though like Gray's shepherd, " He ne'er the paths of learn- 
ing tried," he possessed a wonderful felicity of expression,. 
I might say a genius, for coining and adopting rhythmatic 
words and popular phrases, and rendering them into graceful 
idiom. His phraseology fairly glittered with happy and orig- 
inal comparisons. Like the old Flemish masters who often 
chose simple domestic scenes to recreate in rare tint and 
shade, so his exuberant fancy clothed every-day events with 
pomp of ornament and Oriental splendor surpassing the pages 
of Rasselas. Possibly his grammar sometimes violated Lind- 
ley Murray. I cannot say that his logic would stand the 
strain of Locke, or that his rhetoric was in the perfect diction 
of Macaulay or Motley. An old dialogue makes Lord Bacon 
say, " He that can make the multitude laugh andjweep as you 



FISHERMEN. 435 

do, Mr. Shakespeare, need not fear scholars." So while old 
and young laughed and cried and quoted his sprightly raph- 
sodies, he cared little for critics and scholars. He drove four- 
in-hand among the figures of speech, cracking his whip 
where clustered the fairest flowers, scattering homely apo- 
thegm and classic antithesis, of which he never heard, like the 
leaves of autumn. In an age of pure tradition without books, 
Mr. Snow's contributions undoubtedly would have been hand- 
ed down as the sayings of a creative mind ; but for this he 
came too late into the world ; and as he wrote nothing, and 
was scarcely known beyond his little native town, little will 
survive his generation. 

Somebody has said, " Had Abraham Lincoln ruled in a 
period of less facility of printing, he would have become my- 
thologized in a very few years." But bad Abraham Lincoln 
lived and died without education in his native Kentucky vil- 
lage, his name would have been known only at the village 
resorts and perhaps the Four Corners. 

Mr. Snow was also a man of courage and energy. During 
the war of the Embargo he purchased a five-handed boat that 
had been condemned, repaired and made her sails himself, and 
in her made trips to Boston. On a return passage, when 
below Minot's Ledge, he was overtaken by a furious northeast 
snow storm. A frail old boat, a rock-bound lee shore, a driv- 
ing gale, and a long winter night, were fearful odds. His 
" second" and only man was William White, a small man, who 
had seen salt water and was noted for his imperturbable deliber- 
ation, and by a habit of prefacing his remarks with " By 
gracious, sir ! " It was a desperate moment when Mr. Snow 
said, " Mr. White, what would you do ? " " By gracious, sir, 
I would take in the mains'l, double reef the fores'l and give 
her an offing," said the little man with the calmness of Plato. 
As unexpected as was such advice, Mr. Snow was quick to see 
it was their only hope. They soon put their little craft in the 
snug trim advised, and rode out the dubious night in safety. 
Mr. Snow and Captain Rich, the blind man, with others, were 
once on board the Truro packet lying at the wharf in Boston, 
when a woman came into the cabin, and after making consid- 



436 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

erable talk, in which none of the company joined, she left. 
The blind man remarked, " I soon saw her drift." " Yes," said 
Mr, Snow as quick as lightning, " so did I ; and if she had 
not left just as she did, I would have kicked her out of the 
cabin." 

TWO PINE-TREES IN THE MOON. 

We had reached the top of that range of high hills north- 
easterly of Mr. Noble's house, just as the full moon had fairly 
lifted herself from the dark woods to the south. With her 
lower disc barely clear of the trees, she hung against the 
hazy sky firm and fast as if nailed by the Great Builder. Two 
lone pine-trees in direct range on a distant ridge, were per- 
fectly described within the lunar circle, making a grand pict- 
ure. We took a few steps down the hill and looked again. 
There was the great red moon, its lower limb still almost 
touching the tree-tops ; and there were the two pine-trees, 
with their long, bare trunks and fronded branches just filling 
the full circle. Keeping a square front, we walked slowly 
down the long-inclined hill, so as to continue the illusion of a 
fixed moon, holding within her burnished rim the two pine- 
trees in silhouette, on a blood-red field. Within the circle, 
there were no detracting objects ; nothing that the Great 
Artist would have disallowed : just the two pine-trees. The 
farther we walked and longer we looked, the more natural 
seemed the picture, till moon and pine-trees seemed the work 
of an old master, as indeed they were. We thought of 
Joshua's command at Beth-Horam, " Sun, stand thou still 
in Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon." Of 
Ossian's apostrophy, " O thou round as the shield of my 
fathers ! " Of the uprooted tree upon the shield of the 
disinherited knight at the tournament at Ashby. And of 
John's angel, standing in the sun. Then came trooping the 
bygones. How oft we had watched in childhood, when like 
a silver shield she danced amid the fleecy clouds. How oft 
in youth her cheerful lamp had been trimmed for our bois- 
terous sports ; and how oft at sea her broad welcome beams 



FISHERMEN. 



437 



had dashed away the shadows of night, and floored the ocean 
with a sea of glass beautiful as apocalyptic vision. As we 
came down the hill, the picture vanished. The moon mount- 
ing on her airy journey, like a balloon cut loose from strong 
cords, scattered her wealth of soft light and amber clouds up 
and down the long valleys in royal profusion, leaving the two 
■pine-trees bare and alone on the distant ridge. 



-••■ '.;.■ '•- 





HER BROAD WELCOME BEAMS DASHED AWAY THE SHADOWS OF NIGHT. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE TIDE TURNED. 

Prosperous Days. Cause of Decline. The Piling Failure. Truro Academy. Joshua 
H. Davis. Horace Mann. New Departure. His Preparation. His Work. Popu- 
lar Education. Tom Brown of Rugby. Result. A Traveller. Cape Cod Branch. 
Wharf Building. Ship Building. Prospects. Universalist Church. New Light- 
house. Modern Tyre. Steamer Cambria. County Commissioners. Staging over 
Sahara. Stage Acquaintances. Staging Englishman. An Old Stager. Venice of 
New England. Government Recommendations. Mails. Attended their own Fune- 
ral. Cape Cod Telegraph Company. Final Blow. The Packet. Captain Zoheth 
Rich. The Post-boy. Going to Boston. Canterbury Tales. Passengers. Com- 
paring Notes. Thoreau. Captain Richard Stevens. 

TWENTY-FIVE years (1830-55) covered the active 
business history of Truro. In loss of life and property 
they were the most calamitous that ever befell a community 
not blotted out. The most prosperous days were in about 
1836, when the mackerel fishery was carried on largely by 
small vessels well accommodated by the harbor to do all their 
business at home. As the fashion or business demanded 
larger vessels, and the harbor could not be deepened, they 
began to leave In 1854, to retain them, another and final 
attempt to- improve the harbor was undertaken, this time 
by driving piles. Several thousand dollars were subscribed 
by citizens and friends in Boston, which was spent to the 
best advantage ; but old currents refused to be coerced, and 
the money was lost. Could the Edes-Jetty system have been 
tried, better success might have followed ; but it seems to be 
a law of nature for all sandy harbors and inlets to fill up and 
wash away. The breakwater system is evidently the only 
practical plan, 

43S 



THE TIDE TURNED. 439 

In considering the material prosperity of Truro, I stated 
that education received a marked impulse. In a limited sense 
this was true, generally of Massachusetts at that period. But 
the direct cause of this new departure, which gave a new 
impetus to education, was the Truro Academy, built in 1840, 
incorporated 1841. Horace Mann, then at the head of the 
School Svstem of Massachusetts, delivered the dedicatory 
address. Joshua H. Davis, now Superintendent of the Public 
Schools of Somerville, was the projector of the school, and 
the architect of the academy building, which was a model 
of symmetry and convenience. It stood on the south side of 
the river, about half a mile southwest of the bridge, on a 
pleasant knoll well up the hillside, fairly overlooking the 
town northerly. Mr. Davis opened his school August 31, 
1840, and continued forty-seven weeks every year, till April, 
1854, when his health required a change. In a note referring 
to the school he remarks : — 

Those were years of severe but joyous labor. My school was liberally 
patronized from its beginning to its close. In the winter season, especially, the 
academy was filled to its utmost capacity. I was always treated by the young 
gentlemen and ladies whom I instructed, with great kindness and courtesy. 
The remembrance of their affectionate regard is very dear to my heart. 

Mr. Davis carried to his work a valuable practical prepara- 
tion, but more than a valuable preparation ; more than a 
genius for teaching, was a noble, conscientious purpose to 
elevate the standard and educate in its broadest meaning, the 
youth of his town. No teacher ever better understood the 
work before him, or more zealously consecrated youth and 
industry to a chosen calling. He was of the people, and felt 
their needs. He undoubtedly saw outstretching a wide and 
fertile field ; he saw young men and women, capable and 
courageous, launching upon life, needing the discipline and 
directing hand of a better education. He combated the 
narrow biases and local prejudices to popular education, 
building on a foundation deep and strong, till one by one 
effete customs and traditional dogmas gave place to a thought- 
ful spirit of inquiry, and to an improved public sentiment. 

He saw the possibility of these young men and women 



440 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

entering other fields ; but not the most careful observation, 
no turning of the horoscope, could forecast such varying expe 
riences as lay before the youth of his school. Tom Brown's 
picture of the diversified lives of the boys at Rugby, under 
the good, wise, and great Doctor Arnold, would find a rival in 
these fishermen's sons. To common observation they would 
mainly follow in the steps of their fathers. Never did paths 
lie more divergent ; never, perhaps, did the school of a small 
town become more scattered, or enter more unexpected 
callings. The town was never more populous, and particu- 
larly in young men. To the training and influence of this 
school we trace a growing spirit to better their condition ; but 
the time was ripe for change, and the failure of the harbor, and 
series of disasters that befell the town, hastened the event. 
When the war opened, the navy, the army, and diversified, 
commercial pursuits by sea and land opened wide other doors. 
The influence of the academy greatly improved the public 
schools, and was recognized not only in society at home, but 
in many, if not all, of the Cape towns. A traveller who visited 
the Cape at this time, wrote of Truro: "The schools were 
noticeable. No haggard faces, no ragged dresses — all neat — 
faces beaming with health and intelligence, and the tout ensem- 
ble indicating happy homes." 

In 1846 the Cape Cod Branch Railroad was incorporated. 
Drew thus describes this event as seen through Bart Gosnold's 
prophetic spy-glass : 

Aghast he stands in sudden fright, 

His hair, behold il bridle ! 
The lens has brough the cars so near, 

He hears the horrid whistle ! 

And peering into further years — 

Not far from this our day — 
He sees the happy era when 

The Cape Cod Branch will pay. 

In 1847 an act °f tne Legislature authorized the building of 
a dam across Mill Creek. The same year authority was given 
E. Rich and Company to build a wharf at Newcomb's Point. 



THE TIDE TURNED. 44 1 

Large storehouses and sheds for packing mackerel were also 
built, and a flourishing business began. In 1848 J. A. Paine, 
Allen Hinckley and J. W. Magoun were severally authorized 
to build wharves. At this time the indications were that ere 
many years wharves would line all the eligible points both 
sides of the harbor. In 1846 the Universalists built quite a 
sightly church edifice on the high hill at the northeast of 
Captain Lewis Lombard's. The building was finished on the 
outside excepting the windows. During a violent northeast 
storm, Thanksgiving eve it was swept to the earth, and so 
completely wrecked as to defy reconstruction. The society was 
small ; had made great sacrifices, and this unforeseen calamity 
so discouraged them that no further effort was made. The 
location was well chosen, and commanding, and the new church 
added considerably to the picturesque view of the crowned 
hilltop, at the centre of the town. 

Standing now upon the Old Colony Railroad bridge that 
crosses Pamet Harbor, over the very site of those wharves and 
stores, and surveying Lie almost desolate shores and the ever- 
moving tide unvexed by keel from flood to ebb, scarcely a ves- 
tige is left of all this busy, bustling enterprise. Here were 
wharves covered with stores and sheds ; crowded with vessels. 
Forty-nine were hauled up one winter, besides several at East 
Harbor and other places. Here was a shipyard, where foi 
many years two, and sometimes three vessels, were at the same 
time on the stocks. Much of the timber was cut in town and 
drawn to the yard, all of which kept the people at work. Ship- 
building touches a host of industries. Three packets were em- 
ployed carrying fish to Boston and returning with supplies for 
the outfitters, or material for the new vessels, besides several 
traders and coasters to New York and other points, which, 
with the hardy crews of the fishermen going and coming, 
presented just such an animated picture as everybody loves to 
see. Salt manufactured all along the shore, and the creeks 
and coves, was brought down to the wharves in scows to a 
ready market. This was not a great business mart, surely, but 
a sense of activity and healthy development plainly seen and 
felt gave bright promise for the future. In 1849 Government 



442 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

built a lighthouse on Snow's Beach, which was discontinued 
after a few years. Democratic influence, it was said, was not 
strong enough in town to keep the lamps burning. The real 
occasion, probably, for the removal, was the decline of business 
and the light being sometimes mistaken for others in the bay. 
This year, in April, the steamer Cambria from Liverpool to 
Boston, grounded on the Back Side. Two passengers went 
with the mails to Boston. Tug boats were sent down ; the 
weather proving moderate, she was pulled off without serious 
delay. The passengers went on shore, and the English par- 
ticularly, thought the prospect from the high hills and banks 
" the most delightsome they had seen." The Wellfleet oyster- 
man told Thoreau that the ladies played pranks with his scoop- 
net in the pond. 

This year the County Commissioners were authorized to 
build a bridge and lay out a highway across East Harbor 
in Truro. Provincetown and Truro had both long felt the 
necessity of this connection. The old road lay around the 
Head of the Meadow, down by the beach-plum hummocks, 
and under the bank by Beach Point, making, except at high 
tides, a quite passable, though very tedious drive. 

At this time the tide cut out the passable way under the 
bank, and forced all carriage-travel for miles, over sandhills 
more trackless than the deserts of Sahara. Passengers were 
compelled to work their passage not only by walking, but 
sometimes, like Hercules, putting their shoulders to the 
wheel. One hour after the stage, had passed, during high, 
dry winds, the deep tracks of the horses and wheels in the 
soft sand, would be as completely obliterated as if washed by 
the ocean surf beating in full sight on the beach. 

Though a barren way, it was by no means barren of 
excitement or incident, nor always wanting in accident. 
Passengers were usually pleasant and jovial. A stageload 
of strangers at starting, would become better acquainted, and 
form more friendships, than the same number of first-class 
cabin passengers travelling together across the Atlantic. 

In 1849, during one of the high tides, the mail stage while 
crowding the bank capsized, throwing a dozen passengers 



THE TIDE TURNED. 



443 



into the water, which, being quite deep, all were wet to the 
skin ; some of the women were dreadfully frightened, and one- 
was in danger of being drowned. 

An English traveller before referred to, relating his expe- 
rience, wrote: "Mr. Collins (Jonathan), the driver, was 
familiar from infancy, with every spot on the road, and most 
obligingly communicated all the information in his power ; 
this last stage of the road to Provincetown being the most 
curious and interesting in connection with the Pilgrims." 

Mr. Collins will be remembered with much pleasure by 
old travellers on the Cape. He was a powerful man, of mag- 
nificent proportions, with a head as large as Daniel Webster's 
and a hand as large as George Washington's. He was well- 
informed, pleasant, facetious, with always a ready kind word. 
It probably did not occur to Mr. Collins on that morning 
ride, that by his affability to a stranger on his box, his name 
would be published in London, enter the great libraries of the 
world, and come back to find a place in local history. The 
same traveller was again astonished to notice a little girl at 
the tavern in Wellfleet, reading the Mysteries of Paris. 

Somebody has said that, " From Truro to Provincetown is 
the Venice of New England, and as unlike anything else as 
the city of gondolas is unlike the other capitals of Italy." 

In 1854, the Legislative Committee, under Governor Wash- 
burn, made a full and able report of the right of the Common- 
wealth in the Province lands, and the importance of Cape 
Cod Harbor and its protection. They suggested the joint 
action of Truro, the State, and the General Government. 
They recommended the building of Beach Point bridge, and 
" that the Government disburse its means with a liberal hand 
for the preservation of one of the most important harbors in 
the United States." 

The Legislature passed an act for the protection of cran- 
berry vines in the Province lands. 

In 18 17, the towns on the Cape petitioned the Postmaster- 
general for a mail twice a week to Brewster, and if practicable, 
to Provincetown. At this time the mails were carried by a 
solitary footman. As late as 1832, the mails were carried to 



444 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Provincetown by the Post-boy, twice a week. When a one- 
horse wagon and three times a week was reached, we thought 
the post-office department capable of marvellous expansion. 

Just after the Revolutionary War, some of the men who 
had moved from Truro to the Kennebec, finding in the fall 
more potatoes than money, loaded a vessel and came to 
Truro for a market. The harbor soon froze up, and remained 
sealed like a bottle till spring. At the earliest chance they 
started for home, where they arrived just in season to 
attend their own funeral services. Not a word had been 
heard from them since leaving home, and their friends 
concluded they had been lost, and mourned for them 
accordingly. 

In 1858, the Cape Cod Telegraph Company was incor- 
porated ; this was regarded a great step ; but the next year 
the Boston and Cape Cod Marine Telegraph Company built 
a line in competition, so that instead of the old mail coach 
climbing the sand hills all the way around the Cape, rival 
lines almost fought for the privilege of flashing the news, 
and no sooner was a ship recognized from the Highland, 
than the merchant in Boston received the news. 

The final blow from which the town never recovered, was 
the breaking up of the Union Company's store. This was an 
unincorporated company, each shareholder being responsible 
for the obligations to the full amount, or to his last dollar, a 
fact they all understood better in the end. The superintend- 
ent, Mr. Elkanah Paine 2d, was a very agreeable, enterprising, 
and popular man. The cooperation of the stockholders gave 
it almost unbounded influence in the community. A large 
and apparently flourishing business was carried on for many 
years. The stockholders were satisfied without investigation, 
so long as ten per cent, per annum was paid. The company 
bought and sold, and borrowed and loaned, but in the day of 
reckoning it was found hopelessly in debt, and was placed in the 
court of equity. The responsible stockholders were obliged 
to pay a sum fully equal to the amount of their paid-up stock, 
to free themselves from the debts. 

Going to Boston by land was less common than a voyage 



THE TIDE TURNED. 445 

to China. It must be the king's business that demanded such 
an outlay of time and capital. Excepting the mails, carriage 
by water was the only recognized connection with Boston. 
Hence the " packet " early became almost a personality. My 
history would be imperfect without some reference thereto. I 
cannot learn that any one vessel was engaged in this traffic 
till after the War of 181 2. Yet I have no reasonable doubt 
that there was some periodical connection many years before. 
The first regularly-established packet of which I have authen- 
tic information, was the pinkey Comet, Captain Zoheth Rich. 
In about 1830, Captain Rich and his friends determined to 
build a first-class packet. The result was the schooner Post- 
boy, the finest specimen of naval architecture, and of passen- 
ger accommodation, in the Bay waters. Her cabin and furni- 
ture were finished in solid mahogany and bird's-eye, and silk 
draperies. She was the admiration of the travelling public; 
all that had been promised in a first-class packet, and was 
often crowded to overflowing with passengers. Captain Rich, 
better known at home as Captain Zoheth, knew the way to Bos- 
ton in the darkest night, and could keep his passengers good- 
natured with a head wind. He could laugh as heartily at an old 
story as a new one, and was always a good listener. Good lis- 
teners have many secrets. One of the most popular women in 
Europe could not communicate a perfectly finished sentence, 
but she could keep a secret, and was consulted more on im- 
portant interests than all the rest. The captain of the Post- 
boy was not a fluent man, nor of a vivid imagination. His 
vocabulary was limited to the fewest monosyllabic words, 
which he used with miserly economy, cutting them short in a 
quick, hurried, inimical style ; then as if impressed that he 
had not done full justice to his subject, he would repeat his^ 
first words still more quickly, and with more marked emphasis. 
The first day from Boston was always a busy one, and the 
captain was on the alert. People would soon begin to inquire, 
"Captain Zoheth, when do you go to Boston again?" "I 
think we'll go Wens'dy, wind and weather permit'n ; yes, 
go to Bost'n about Wens'dy," They knew well enough 
that the Post-boy never went to Boston on that declaration ; 



446 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

none expected it. The next day the same question would be 
asked, with this answer, " Goin' to-morrer, if can get out the 
harbor ; go to-morrer." " To-morrer " was sure to bring a scant 
tide, and scant wind, and the packet would not move. 

Somebody was now sure to say, " Why, Capt'n, you didn't 
go to Boston to-day." " No, didn't get out ; divlish low tide, 
and bead wind." "Well, when are you going?" The last 
said, perhaps, with a slight impatience. "The Piz-by will go to 
Bost'n to-morrer; yes, sir, the Piz-by will go to Bost'n to-mor- 
rer, wind or no wind, tide or no tide, by gracious ! " Now it 
was well understood the packet would go to Boston to-mor- 
row. Early the next morning the captain would be seen 
coming with his little black-leather trunk that always meant 
business ; long before highwater the colors floated at the top- 
mast head, the signal for Boston ; and the Post-boy went to 
Boston, just about the time the captain intended, and when 
from the first it was understood she would go. I do not mean 
to say this was the captain's rule, by no means ; when business 
was good, he made quick trips, and never stood on the order 
of going or coming ; but there are scores now living, who well 
remember the Post-boy, Captain Zoheth, and his nervous 
Anglo-Saxon. 

Never were travellers more happy or content than on the 
Post-boy. Never since the Canterbury Tales was social free- 
dom and story-telling better practised or enjoyed. She sailed 
on no time-table. Passengers well understood at the start, 
that a few hours, or a few days, might be required, and that the 
stock of stores and stories would hold out. They knew that 
the interest and pleasure of the trip depended upon the good- 
feeling and comfort of their fellow-passengers, who, when at 
home, were mostly neighbors and townsmen. Here was sure 
to be some Marco Polo captain, who had killed elephants in 
India or seen the Brahma's great white bull. Some Western 
adventurer, who discoursed of steamboat races, herds of 
buffalo, and Indians. Here were the home traders, discussing 
the price of sugar, eggs, and palm-leaf hats. Skippers talked 
of mackerel and codfish. If the sail flapped idly against the 
mast, somebody had been becalmed in the Indian Ocean for 



THE TIDE TURNED. 447 

weeks, without a cat's-paw on the face of the water, or had 
run down the trade winds from the Windward Islands to the 
Equator, without starting his topgallant studding-sail brace; 
or, like the flying Dutchman, had beaten for weeks off Cape 
Horn. There was no monopoly or obtrusiveness in all this 
freedom of conversation. Each told their experience, or 
listened with interest and pleasure to the rest, and all sought 
with unaffected good-nature to please and profit. 

The few travellers, visiting the Cape for health, pleasure or 
profit, for the first time, were drawn towards these people. 
Social conventionalities, wealth, birth and education melted 
their narrow partitions in this genial atmosphere, and, not 
unfrequently, those who met as strangers separated as life- 
long friends. 

Captain Rich retired from packed ng at the decline of the 
business, and spent the remainder of his days, till threescore 
and ten, in his snug little home, which for nice keeping was a 
gem. No grass was greener, no garden cleaner, no grapes 
larger, and no horse or cow fatter than his. For many years 
he shared the fellowship of the Church, died in her faith, and 
was gathered unto his fathers. 

Thoreau says of his stage ride on the Cape, " I was struck 
by the pleasant equality which reigned among the company, 
and their broad and invulnerable good humor. They were 
what is called free and easy, and met one another to advan- 
tage, as men who had, at length, learned how to live. They 
appeared to know each other when they were strangers ; they 
were so simple and downright. They were well met, in an 
unusual sense ; that is, they met as well as they could meet, 
and did not seem to be troubled with any impediment. They 
were not afraid nor ashamed of one another, but were con- 
tented to make just such a company as the ingredients al- 
lowed. It was evident that the same foolish respect was not 
here claimed for mere wealth and station that is in many 
parts of New England. 

Captain Richard Stevens was for many years a popular and 
gentlemanly packet master. He first ran the Young Tell, 
then built the Mail, and last the fine schooner Modena. He 



44 8 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



was also connected with the steamer Naunskon that ran sev- 
eral years between Boston and Provincetown. Captain 
Stevens was a pleasant gentleman. With the travelling pub- 
lic he was proverbially a popular man, affable and attentive. 
He not only desired to accommodate and make his passengers 
comfortable, but he knew how to do it. He was a good neigh- 
bor, friend and citizen ; represented the town in the Legisla- 
ture and enjoyed other positions of trust. Quite late in life 
he received the appointment of wharfinger at the North End, 
and moved to Somerville, where he died in 1870, aged sixty- 
eight years. 




CHAPTER XXV. 
LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 

Old Acquaintances. Hie Jacet. Emigration. Roof Tree. Citizenship. Changes. 
Population. Summer Resorts. 1830 Massachusetts Gazateer. Banner Town. 
Prospect. Possibilities. Prophetic Lens. Old Pictures. Salt Mills. Salt Works. 
Salt Fish. Salt Water. Salt. Well-preserved. Picturesque Town. Flemish 
Picture. Profane Visitor. One Horse with one Eye. Stone vs. Fish. No Road. 
Doctor Davy and Penzance. Carts and Carpets. Paths and Pilots. A Road that 
Needed no Sprinkling. United States Surplus under Feet. Lost Feet. Railroad. 
Mackerel Fleet. Salt Industry. Consumption and Supply. Mills and Castles. 
Sancho Panza. Dramatis Persona. The Grist Mill. The Old Miller. Golden 
Meal. Mills of the Gods. Chatham. A Wfrg Platform. Corn Laws. In 
Memoriam. 

RETURNING from a walk my mother said, " Have you 
been to call upon old acquaintances ? " " Yes, in the 
graveyard." Not only the old land marks and sea marks and 
old customs, but the good old people are fast passing away. 
I stood by the graves of four men born about the same year, 
in the same little neighborhood, almost one hundred years 
ago. As boys, they were together early inured to toil and the 
discipline of the times. For forty and fifty years, by diverg- 
ing paths, they sailed to and fro, and up and down the world, 
meeting a full share of the hardships and misfortunes inci- 
dental to their calling. Having gained a little competence, 
once more, and at about the same time, they began to draw 
their furrows afield, and realize the dream of their lives, to 
enjoy undisturbed at home a peaceful old age. Together 
they met on the Sabbath in the same church, and in the 
same social and religious circle, till threescore and ten, and 
fourscore, brings them with their companions side by side in 

449 



45° 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



the same graveyard, and each grave marked by a white stone. 
Standing there, I said, " How short the journey ! only a few 
steps from the place of birth to the final rest ; just from 
the valley to the hilltop. The swallow could scale it with 
steady wing, and yet, how long the march ; how many star- 
less nights and toilsome days in these few steps from the 
cradle to the grave." 

Lovely and fair is the morning, 

Bright is God's glorious sun; 
But weary spirits rest at eve, 

When the long, long day is done. 

For a quarter century the tide of migration increased, till 
it became almost a panic. It would be safe to say all have 
not bettered their condition. Many families have been swept 
away who were valuable citizens, in the enjoyment of com- 
fortable homes and influence, who have been swallowed up 
under new experiences. The old roof-tree, however humble, 
gathers around it so many cheap home comforts and blessings, 
so many pleasant social and religious relations, without dis- 
tinction, that once cut off, the new life becomes a race with 
multiplied necessities, while barren to the heart. These 
remarks apply more to the middle-aged and past. The young 
have a fair field, and though few may win high position, yet 
every man is responsible that his citizenship shall be secured, 
and his good name a legacy which is often better than lands 
or bonds. Some of the Cape towns have been reduced 
more than half, Truro among the number ; but as the majority 
are now much less depending upon fishing, and will be less 
likely to break up, the town is about holding her own, and 
better days may be in store. I have counted fourteen houses 
in a little neighborhood nestled prettily enough for an artist's 
pencil. For forty years not a house had been added or 
removed. The boy who left at twenty might have returned 
like Enoch Arden, with the marks of age, and though empires 
had been blotted out, mighty States marched into line, and 
the map of the world changed, yet not a change in its ham- 
let. The next turn of the road opened another picture, where 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 453 

I counted a dozen houses, and in imagination, a dozen more, 
that had been moved away within as many years. The popu- 
lation of Truro in 1794 was 1320, with 165 dwellings; in 
1850, population 2051; in i860, 1883; in 1870, 1269; in 
1880 less than 1000. Over one hundred families from Truro 
now reside in Somerville ; thirty from Doctor Noble's 
church. 

I have said better days may be in store. As always in the 
past so in the future, the Cape will hold her interest in fishing. 
The modes may change. Some of the towns may decline 
still further, other points will increase, possibly the shore 
fisheries may cut a not unimportant figure. It is reasonably 
certain, however, that the aggregate product of the Cape 
fisheries will not decline. But a glance at the map before 
you, showing the geographical position, configuration and 
connection by land and water with Boston and New York, is 
better than any statement or argument, that Cape Cod is by 
nature wonderfully adapted for, and must become more and 
more, a summer resort. The Cape is not convenient for daily 
connection, but thousands of familes seek more distant 
places at great expense and inconvenience, to spend the 
season or a vacation. The advantages of the Cape for 
health, rest, pure air, pure water, sea bathing, wholesome 
food, moderate expense, general comfort and comparative 
convenience of access, must be better understood, till her 
breezy headlands, clean-washed shores and healthful hills 
and valleys are well dotted. 

The last few years Provincetown has drawn a good many 
visitors. With accommodations and conveniences commen- 
surate with her natural attractions, a few years will place her 
among the great popular resorts of New England. This 
requires both public and private enterprise, which will repay 
at least tenfold in the present life. 

The best fishing points, with good harbors, are everywhere 
becoming the most desirable summer resorts. Torquay 
(Torkee), a favorite and fashionable watering-place, pictur- 
esquely located on a cove in sight of old Dartmoor, with a 
population of twenty-five thousand, was, twenty-five years 



454 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



ago, a thriving fishing village, 
places in England and France. 



This is true of many other 



[From the Massachusetts Gazetteer, March, 1830.] 

A daily stage goes down the Cape as far as Orleans, and from there every 
other day a wagon proceeds to Provincetown which might convey two or three 
passengers. From that place packets run at irregular but not long intervals to 
Boston in a few hours (if a fair wind). I do not doubt that the excursion when 
the route becomes better known, will become quite common, and as the travel is 
increasing the means of transportation will be improved. Should it become 
sufficient to require a steamboat from Provincetown to Boston, I can hardly 
think of a route that would be more likely to interest and profit a large part of 
the community. 

Could the professor have looked through a prophetic lens, 
he would have seen in the not far-away future, the swift-footed, 
crowded steamers that now run almost daily to Provincetown 




HIGH POLE HILL — PROVINCETOWN, 1870. 

through all the fine weather, and the two daily trains, that in 
spite of wind or weather, blaze along the shores and through 
the hills, challenging with sharp whistle the hoarse thug of the 
ocean. 

The census of 1870 shows a loss in every town in the county, 
Provincetown excepted. From the least and youngest, she 
has become the banner-town. Perched out on a crest of allu- 
vial sand and almost cut off, she has fairly outrivalled the old 
towns of Barnstable and Sandwich, with good farms and wide 
domain. 



From the farthest point of Sandwich to the city in the sand 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 455 

may have a literal interpretation. At present, 1878, a tempo- 
rary cloud overshadows her prosperity. But with one of the 
best harbors on the coast, with diversified fishing interests, 
with coastwise and considerable local business, with energy, 
enterprise, sufficient wealth and a great growing country, 
what can prevent a rapid return of business. 

Provincetown is well conditioned to largely increase her 
fisheries. No town in New England more so. The rapid 
expansion of the country must create an increasing demand 
for fish products at remunerative prices. An interest that 
developed the country and balanced its destiny when the 
population was a million, that has been well sustained during 
a century of extreme vicissitudes, cannot decline with a popu- 
lation of fifty millions, if the fish hold out. History shows 
that not the wealth of a few build up, but that united effort, 
liberal policy and intelligent labor will win golden victories. 
To keep capital and business talent at home, and to expand 
home interests, are vital considerations. She has great advan- 
tages and has had large experience; these well improved, and 
this century will close upon the most flourishing sea coast 
town in the State. The decline of some towns is as much a 
law as their growth. To fight destiny is foregone defeat. 
The reverse is true of this town. There may be contingencies 
as in all business, but for a series of years, all the conditions 
being equal, the cod fisheries are full of promise, and 
Provincetown will sow and reap. 

Forty years ago the shores of Provincetown were lined with 
wind-mills, called in the vernacular, "salt-mills," used 'for 
pumping ocean water into the hundreds of acres of "salt 
works" that completely flanked the town and came up almost 
into their houses and bed-chambers. What with the salt 
ocean rolling on the back side, the salt bay washing the front, 
the thousands of hogsheads of pure salt crystallizing in shal- 
low vats or high piled in storehouses, waiting market, and 
miles of salt codfish curing in the autumnal sun, Province- 
town could lay good claim to being a well-preserved commu- 
nity. A view of the town is better worth seeing from any 
approach than hundreds of places of wider fame, but fifty 



45 6 



TR UR O — CAPE COD. 



years ago an approach at highwater from Truro, the only 
land communication, was a rare view. 

The quaint village hugging the crescent shore for three 
miles, hundreds of mills from the shore, wharves and hill-tops 




PROVINCETOWN FIFTY YEARS AGO. 



all in lively motion and commotion, the tall spars of the ves- 
sels in port, the steep hills rising like huge earth-works of de- 
fence, and the low sandy point half-coiled around the harbor, 
anchored at the tip by the lighthouse of old Darby fame, was 
a sight that could be seen nowhere else in this land, and was 
more like the old Dutch and Flemish pictures of Hobbema 
and Van Ostade than anything I have seen. About this time 
a profane visitor wrote in a weekly newspaper, " Houses, salt- 
works, and curiously-built hovels, for uses unknown, are 
mixed up together. It would seem that the God of the infi- 
dels, which they call chance, had a hand in this mysterious 
jumble." The citizens properly resented this fling at their 
practical architecture, and intimated they knew their own 
business. 

In 1829, the Provincetown minister, Mr. Stone, said to Dr. 
Cornell, then a Wellfleet schoolmaster, "Would you believe 
that there is a town in the United States with 1800 inhabitants 
and only one horse with one eye? Well, that town is Prov- 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 457 

incetown and I am the only man in town that owns a horse 
and he is an old white one with one eye." Mr. Stone and Mr. 
Fish used to alternate for the Mashpee Indians. The Indians 
through one of their own number, applied to the committee 
and requested that Mr. Fish be sent regularly. The com- 
mittee urged Mr. Stone, saying he was the best minister. 
" Indian ask for fish, you give him stone," said the imperturb- 
able brave. 

There was then no road through the town. With no carts, 
wagons, carriages, horses or oxen, why a road ? A road was 
well enough where there was use for it. The first sleigh 
ever used in the town was a dory ; a good substitute and 
suggestion for the North Pole explorers. A Provincetown 
boy seeing a carriage driving through the town wondered how 
she could steer so straight without a rudder. Dr. Davy says 
his brother, Sir Humphrey, remembered when there was but 
one cart and one carpet in his native town of Penzance, now 
one of the beautiful and fashionable resorts of England. I 
don't know so well about carpets, but am sure the estimate on 
carts is not far from correct. Here every man had a path from 
his house to his boat or vessel, and once launched, he was on 
the broad highway of nations, without tax or toll. There were 
paths to the neighbors, paths to school, and paths to church ; 
tortuous, perhaps, but they were good pilots by night or day, 
on land or water. Besides, at lowwater there was a road 
such as none else could boast, washed completely twice a day 
from year to year, wide enough and free enough and long 
enough, if followed, for the armies of the Netherlands. 

For you, they said, no barriers be, 

For you no sluggard rest ; 
Each street leads downward to the sea 

Or landward to the West. 

The cob wharves were then not as frequent or long as now, 
and travel passed under and around them. Washing fish is 
one of the cherished institutions of Provincetown. It might 
not inappropriately be adopted as her coat of arms. The 
division of the United States surplus revenue was the begin- 



458 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



ning of a new era in Provincetown. When the question of 
appropriating the money for laying out a road and building a 
sidewalk through the town was being discussed, a citizen in 
town meeting said : " As this money has proved a bone of con- 
tention in most places, I think the best place for bones is 
under our feet ; I am therefore in favor of appropriating this 
fund to a sidewalk throughout the town." Like all great im- 
provements, it met with bitter opposition. The old were wed 
to old ways and content. They had known no inconveniences. 
Houses, stores, saltworks, fish flakes and mills were to be 
removed, wells to be filled, and rough places made smooth, before 




WASHING OUT I'TSH ON PROVINCETOWN SHORE. 



the road could be laid out and sidewalks built. All of which was 
done, and the five-plank walk on one side of the street, the 
whole length of the town, substantially as now, was opened 
for travel in February, 1838, at a cost of two thousand dollars. 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 459 

Tradition says that some of the old people, particularly the 
ladies, who had strenuously opposed the project, declared they 
would never walk on it, and were as good as their word, 
walking slip-shod through the sand as long as they lived. In 
some of the old pictures the people are represented without 
feet, it being understood so much was covered by the sand. 1 
The railroad did not find its way to Provincetown by forced 
marches. The Old Colony first opened their road to Plym- 
outh with an understanding it would be pushed on to Barn- 
stable at an early day. After a long rest, the Cape Cod 
Branch, by a coup cC^at, struck Sandwich, leaving Plymouth 
a terminus ; they next opened to Yarmouth, with a branch to 
Hyannis. The next hitch was to Orleans. At each exten- 
sion a celebration was held, magnifying the enterprising 
directors and urging on the work. The road was opened to 
Wellfleet October 28, 1869, on which occasion Rev. A. J. 
Church sung an original song. We quote the first verse : — 

The great Atlantic Railroad for old Cape Cod; all hail I 
Bring on the locomotive, lay down the iron rail ; 
Across the Eastham prairies, by steam we're bound to go, 
The railroad cars are coming, let's all get up and crow. 
The little dogs in Dogtown will wag their little tails, 
They'll think that something's coming, a-riding on the rails. 

Provincetown Harbor has often been mentioned as among 
the finest on the coast. In the fall of the year it is some- 
times almost crowded with mackerel fishermen. When com- 
ing in or getting under way to go out, they present an ani- 
mated scene. 

From a short history of Dennis, published in about 1800, 
we find reference to the first manufacturing of salt on the Cape, 
once a valuable industry, and on account of its exten- 
sive use in curing fish, always an item of importance to fish- 
ermen. The amount of salt consumed in this country is pro- 
digious and well-nigh challenges belief. A hogshead can now 
be bought for almost the price of a bushel a hundred years 
ago. It is one of the great blessings of civilization entering 
into every family and most every department of business. 
Previous to the Revolution, all the salt made in America was 



460 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



by the crude and slow process of boiling sea water in kettles. 
It was this method that made such havoc with the forests at 
Pamet and Cape Cod, stripping the hills, as we have noticed. 
London fish-mongers built salt works in connection with fish- 
ing, at Dover Neck, in 1623. It will be noticed that our salt 
works were a development of Cape Cod. 

" The only person who has been completely successful in 
obtaining pure marine salt by the rays of the sun alone, is 
Captain John Sears of Suet, Dennis. In 1776 he constructed 
a vat one hundred feet long and ten wide. Rafters were fixed 
over, and shutters so contrived that the vat might be covered 
when it rained, and exposed to the heat of the sun in fair 




MACKEREL FLEET GETTING UNDER WAY. — PRoVINCETOWN HARBOR. 

weather. At length, to his inexpressible joy, Captain Sears 
perceived the salt beginning to crystallize. His works leaked, 
and the first year he had only eight bushels of salt. He was 
exposed to the ridicule of his neighbors, who as usual scoffed 
at his invention, styling it " Sears' folly." The second year 
he obtained thirty bushels of salt. In the fourth year a pump 
was introduced instead of a bucket. In 1785, at the sugges- 
tion of Major Nathaniel Freeman of Harwich, who had in some 
other country seen a pump worked by wind, the application 
was made with success. In 1793 Reuben Sears, a carpenter 
of Harwich, invented the "gable roof" cover, to run on 
wheels, which brought the system about to perfection. Other 
covers were used, but the "gable" became the uniform stan- 
dard, I think, on the Cape. Salt was then worth one dollar 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 461 

per bushel. Captain Sears obtained a patent in 1799, though 
it has been charged that he did not make a new discovery." 

The Cape was wonderfully well situated, and all the condi- 
tions were remarkably favorable for salt-making by the new 
process. The water was pure from the ocean, and the salt of 
superior quality, weighing eighty pounds to the bushel, besides 
producing large quantities of Glauber's and Epsom salt and 
magnesia, all of excellent quality. 

The practical demonstrations of making salt — of turning 
the ocean to gold — awakened new enterprise. Here was 
alchemy more to be desired by the toiling people than the 
Philosopher's stone. The transmutations began in earnest. 
In 1800 the business was in embryo. In 1832 there was in 
the county of Barnstable 1,425,000 feet of works, producing 
258,250 bushels. It continued a large and moderately profit- 
able industry for many years. The process was slow, and de- 
pended upon the weather. Every man living near the salt 
water had his patch of salt works, if it took his last patch of 
cornfield or potato yard. Building and repairing the works 
gave employment to a large number of mechanics, and mak- 
ing the salt gave employment to the elderly men and boys. 

The reduction of the salt duty was a death-blow to this 
business, while the repeal of the bounty allowed to the 
fishermen by Government, which should never have been 
repealed, did not half compensate for the reduction on salt, 
which was the ostensible object of the friends of this mea- 
sure. Both these changes were great disasters 'o the 
prosperity of the Cape, from which it will never recover. 
Truro was well situated for salt-works, and was a ready 
market for all that could be made. All along the shores and 
the banks of Pamet, its arms and coves and points were well 
covered, and every breezy summit was crowned with a pic- 
turesque windmill. As soon as the law went into effect the 
dismantling began. For years the work went on. Barns 
and out-houses, and sometimes dwellings, were constructed 
from the old covers and floors ; the latter being saturated 
with salt, will last perhaps as long as Cape Cod. The peculiar 
appearance of the buildings if not covered, interested visitors 



462 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

till weather-worn. Salt manufactory on Cape Cod has had 
its day. The business was at its highest state of prosperity 
in about 1832. In 1837, there were thirty-nine establish- 
ments in Truro. 

All the trees mentioned by Bradford are indigenous to 
the Cape. To Mr. Dexter's valuable notes in his reprint 
of Mourt 's Relation, I am indebted in part for the following 
list : 

Oaks (white), quercus alba ; (red) quercus rubra; (black) 
quercus tinctoria ; (scrub) quercus regida. Pine (pitch), 
pinus rigida. Sassafras, sassafras officinale. Juniper (red 
cedar), juniperus virginiaua. Birch (white), betula populi- 
folia. Holly (evergreen), ilex opaca. Ash (white), fraxinus 
acuminata. Walnut (mockemut hickory), carya tomentosa. 
Vines (wild grape), vitis labrusca ; (green brier) smi lax rot uu- 
difolia ; (Virginian creeper) ampelopsis quinquefolia ; (hairy 
honeysuckle) lonicera hirsuta ; (poison ivy) rhus toxicoden- 
dron. To the above list may be added : Pine (white), pinus 
strobus, found rarely on the lower part of the Cape, consid- 
erably in Sandwich, in Plymouth County, is the common 
forest tree. Maple, acer spicatum. Locust (honey), gledits- 
chia triacanthus. Birch (black), B. lenta. 

Since salt water has been cut off from East Harbor and 
Eagle Neck Marshes by building causeways for the railroad, 
black-birch have sprung up quite freely, and promise a fine 
growth. How the seed found its way to these salt marshes, 
and when, is open for discussion. That it was deposited 
among the drift by the tides, seems the only reasonable solu- 
tion. How long it may have been waiting a convenient 
season, it is impossible to tell. Wheat and other seed taken 
from the Egyptian tombs and mummy pits, deposited before 
Romulus and Remus, come as readily to harvest as if 
planted on the banks of the Nile during Joseph's years of 
plenty. 

Oaks in all the varieties mentioned, pine, sassafras and ash, 
are still abundant. The red cedar or savin, called by Bradford 
"juniper," once so plentiful, is sometimes found in our woods 
and pastures isolated, mostly growing from old stumps. Gos- 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 

nold and Smith called it " Cyprus." Rev. Mr. De Costa men- 
tions having seen juniper berries in Truro ; I have seen them 
but rarely. The real cypress grows only in swamps and in 
standing water ; absorbs and contains more water than any 
other wood, and will never rot. The natural trunk of a 
cyprus-tree, as it grows in its native bayou, is a perfect 
pattern of a spreading, clustering column. 

Brush, as used on the Cape, has a wide range ; it embraces 
coppices of scrub-oak, called " live-oak," which attain their 
growth in a dozen or more years, rarely growing over ten 
feet high. They cover many of the hills, and are cut 
off smooth from time to time for summer fuel. A few acres 
of cheap brush land never fail a good brush pile, which the 
fishermen used to prepare during the winter, and stack them 
up near the kitchen, neat as a thatched cottage. Like many 
other old customs, the brush fire is disappearing — passing 
away with the ample chimney and fireplace. Brush also 
embraces brake and thicket, among which may be enumer- 
ated — wild rose, rosa lucida; bush whortleberry, vaccinium 
dumosam ; low blueberry, vaccinium pemisylvanicum ; beach 
plum, prunus maritima ; dogwood, comus Jlorida ; josh pear, 
June berry or shad bush {amalancier) {canadensis). From 
the low bush, mingling with the blueberry, to a graceful 
poplar-shaped tree, from ten to twenty feet high, scattered 
profusely among the sapling oak and branching pine, this tree 
or bush in its early white blossoms, is the beauty of spring, 
and the bright herald of dawning flower life, on the lower 
part of the Cape. It has spread rapidly the last forty years, 
is a most excellent fruit, and pronounced the most healthful of 
all the berry family. 

The wild grape is abundant among the oaks, climbing 
thirty or forty feet, or to the top of the highest trees. They 
weave a network among the thick coverts, where hang the 
purple clusters, a feast for the birds and foxes. Blackberry 
vines abound in great variety, from the low creeper resembling 
the Southern dewberry, to the tall hedge-thorn or bramble. 
When corn was largely cultivated, the periodical ploughing of 
the fields was as good as cultivating blackberries. They 



464 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

could then be picked by the bushel from the stubbles. Wild 
gooseberry vines, or bushes, are also found through the wooded 
districts. 

Among the smaller plants or vines are found noticeably, the 
far-famed Mayflower, or trailing arbutus, and ground laurel 
(epigaed). The first smile of spring, with spicy breath, and 
rose-shaded blossoms, hiding under rough dry leaves. Check- 
erberry, boxberry, aromatic wintergreen or partridge berry, 
known on the Cape generally by the former, but quite gener- 
ally as wintergreen {Gaultheria). Abundant in the more 
open woods. The young plants are called drummers, and 
are eagerly sought for their pleasant aromatic taste. The 
plums or berries gain in flavor by lying all winter in a warm 
bed of snow. Bearberry, mountain berry, sometimes called 
hog cranberry (arctostdphylos uvar uvsi). The better name is 
mountain berry. With its battledoor, evergreen leaves and 
bright crimson berries, it sometimes covers the ground for 
rods with a thick shining carpet beautiful to behold. It creeps 
into the graveyards, spreading the low mounds with a match- 
less twining and interweaving attractive at all seasons. 

Golden astor (chrysopsis falcata) ; golden rod (genns 
solidagd) ; Broom crowberry (oakesia conradi^) ; pimpernel 
(anagallis arvfoisis) ; or poor man's weather-grass ; violet 
(viola pedatd); bird -foot violet; smilax (5. rotnudif blid)\ 
azalia, flowering or false honeysuckle, perhaps (a viscbsa) ; 
poverty grass, before described, bayberry, or wax-myrtle 
(inyrica ceriferd), is the last we shall name of many varieties. 

The bayberry, or wax-myrtle, is usually mentioned among 
the scrub-brush that make up the thickets and brakes indig- 
enous to the Cape. It takes kindly to the open, sandy 
soil, where it throws out abundance of huge crooked roots, 
filling the soft sand like eels in a basket. The trunk is 
smooth and crooked, usually growing two or three feet, but 
when in great clusters, favorably located, it often stands as high 
as a man's head. The leaf is thickish, with a tropical polish 
much resembling the rhododendron. The berry is of a light 
gray, or ash color, smaller than a pepper-corn, and clusters 
thick along the branches. The wood is brittle, cracking like 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 467 

pipestems when trod upon, and emitting an aromatic odor, 
which, mingling with the wild rose, sweet fern, and other 
sweet-scented shrubs, fairly loads the air. 

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods. 

Here it may be found with strong staff in hand, shod with 
stout boots, following the cuckoo's note up the valleys and 
over the hills, treading down the sweet blossoms and tender 
leaf, pushing aside the spreading bushes, making your own 
path, till some grassy plot or leafy covert offers a pleasant 
retreat. Here seated, say — 

I solitary court 
The inspiring breeze, and meditate upon the book 
Of Nature ever open. 

Now the narrow rim of sand that encircles the green hills, 
and the boundless ocean that encircles the rim of sand, 
becomes a matchless double-border, and the hills and valleys 
an emerald setting of wondrous beauty. Now the scrub-oaks 
in scarlet tassels, the stinted pine and sassafras, stretch out 
into spicy groves of Arabia helix, and the long valleys become 
the fragrant vales of Cashmere. 

The butterfly and bumble-bee 

Come to the pleasant woods witli me ; 

Quickly before me runs the quail, 

Timorous of his grassy trail. 
High up the lone wood-pigeon sits, 
And the woodpecker pecks and flits. 
The swarming insects drone and hum, 
The partridge beats his throbbing drum, 

The squirrel leaps among the boughs, 

And chatters in his leafy house; 
The oriole flashes through the light. 
On graceful wing with plumage bright 

Here the blue cat-bird trims his coat 

And tiny feathers fall and float. 

As silently, as tenderly, 

The dawn of peace descends on me. 

O, this is peace ! I have no need 

Of friend to talk, or book to read: 



468 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

A dear companion here abides ; 
Close to my thrilling heart, He tides : 
The holy silence is his voice, 
I lie and listen, and rejoice ! 

Father Raslas, a Roman Catholic missionary to the Indians 
near Quebec, obtained from them the art of producing wax 
from the bayberry, from which he made candles to light 
his chapel in the distant wilderness. He says, " Twenty-four 
pounds of this beautiful green wax, and an equal quantity of 
tallow, will make one hundred handsome wax candles a foot 
long." What could be prettier or in finer taste on Christmas, 
or any festive occasion in the country, than these beautiful 
green wax candles, home-made, burning in the old-fashioned, 
dazzling bright brass candlestick? These Indians were also 
adepts at making maple sugar ; this writer thinks they initiated 
the English in the art. Father Raslas, like his contemporary 
Jesuit brethren, Lasalle, Marquette, Sallemond and Joliet, on 
the western frontier, was a man of extensive acquirements 
and undaunted fortitude. He shared with the Indians their 
privations, and continued their faithful, devoted friend and 
spiritual guide from 1689 till 1724, when he was killed while 
defending them against American troops. 

Whatever may be said of the Jesuits, it must be admitted 
that they have been the most indefatigable, self-sacrificing, 
energetic and enterprising missionaries, since the days of 
St. Paul. 

India repaired half Europe's loss ; 
O'er a new hemisphere the cross 

Shone in the azure sky ; 
And from the isles of far Japan, 
To the broad Andes, won o'er man 

A bloodless victory. 

" While the enemies of Rome were ridiculing holy water, 
and scoffing at relics, the disciples of Loyola were penetrating 
the wilderness of America, and searching the sources of the 
Ganges." Almost a parallel case is related in Grote's history 
of Greece. "Socrates was exposing his life for Athens, at 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 



469 



nearly the same time at which Aristophanes at Athens was 
exposing him to derision in the Country of the Clouds, as 
a dreamer alike morally worthless and physically incapable." 

THE OLD MILLER. 



We have referred to the great number of windmills stand- 
ing on the banks and hills, connected with the salt works, as 
being an attractive feature, and as imparting a semi-foreign 
look to the scenery. These were comparatively modern ; but 
the old grist mills standing 
top of the highest hills, 
were contemporary with 
the settlements, and were 
always a prominent feature 
in the landscape. At one 
time there were three or 
four in Truro. 

Around old mills, almost 
as much as around old cas- 
tles, there clusters much of 
history and romance. If 
not overrun by ivy and 
stained by blood, they tell 
the story of civilization 

and industry better then rampart, donjon or turret. Don 
Quixote and his valiant squire, Sancho Panza, have garlanded 
the conservative old windmills of Spain with a youth as beau- 
tiful and immortal as has our own gifted countryman the far- 
famed castles of the Moors, the marble halls of Alhambra, and 
the magnificent fabric of the Escurial. 

For many years past the principal landmarks seen upon 
approaching Truro shore from the bay side, were the tall grist 
mill, and the two meeting-houses, grouped but a few hundred 
rods apart, in a triangular position. About thirty years ago a 
a town hall was built on the same plateau. From their pecu- 
liar geographical position to each other, a short distance by 
sea or land from a given point, would seem to remove them 




OLD WINDMILL. — ONE OF THE LAND- 
MARKS. 



47 o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

miles apart. This, added to the peculiar looming, or atmos- 
pheric illusion, sometimes gave these almost rude architectural 
structures vast and symmetrical proportions : sometimes weird 
and shadowy shapes ; sometimes the semblance of life. Then 
they became dramatis persona ; now striding off across the 
hills, like Fingal's misty ghost, lifting high his shadowy 
spear, now countermarching and confronting each other like 
angry giants for a conflict at arms. 

But it is the tall mill that claims now our particular atten- 
tion. It was built early in the present century. The frame 
was Southern tun timber, with its huge dimensions, as landed 
from a vessel stranded on the back of the Cape, and drawn to 
the hill-top by ox teams. A wash-barrel of grog was used at 
the raising. Doubtless this frame would have stood a thou- 
sand years, as when, two years since, removed it was as sound 
and bright as when first lifted to its airy summit. Its tall 
arms, and one long leg, the mast of a dismantled schooner, 




TOWN II \l.l . 



which, like a huge spider's web, angled from the cornice to a 
little wheel on the ground, nearly a hundred feet distant, and 
which turned the mill's arms windward, were the outside 
wonders. Inside, the giant shaft, the remorseless cogs, the 



LAND MARKS AND SEA MARKS. 



47i 



iron spindle, the upper and nether millstones, were wonders 
of mechanism, and filled my mind with admiration for the 
men who could construct such mighty engines of power and 
cunning. On the wall of the first loft, nailed against the 
timbers, was a plain deal board about eighteen by forty inches, 
on which, carved by some educated jack-knife, were these let- 
ters, — 



F. 


A. 


A. 


H. 


S. 


R. 



Which being interpreted meant, " This mill is owned in equal 
parts by Freeman Atkins, Allen Hinckley, Samuel Rider." 
These were important personages in my mind. The first of 
them only concerns us in this sketch. 

He it was who climbed the slender latticed arms and set the 
sails ; he it was who hitched the oxen, waiting grist, to the 
little wheel, and with the boys pushing, turned the white wings 
to the wind's eye ; he it was who touched the magical spring, 
and presto ! the long wings beat the air, the great shaft began 
to turn, cog played to its fellow cog, and the mammoth stones 
began to revolve. He it was who mounted like Jove upon 
his Olympian seat, and with one hand on the little regulator, 
that, better than the mills of the gods that ground only slow, 
could grind fast or slow, coarse or fine, with the other hand 
caught the first golden meal. 

I see him now, in my mind's eye. A tall man, with long 
arms, like his mill ; kindly blue eyes, angular face, prominent 
nose, and close shut lips, with a lingering of the old quarter-deck 
compression still revealed. He was not called a handsome 
man, and used to say facetiously that he was a warning to 
mothers with handsome babes, as he was considered the 
handsomest in town. But far more than the paintings of the 
old or new masters, this homely face had attractions for me. 



472 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Ever and anon as . he removed his great bony hand from the 
hot meal, touching his face and long nose till whitened like a 
distant promontory, he grew still more attractive, and I nestled 
still nearer his coveted seat, encouraged by his kindly manner 
to ask a few more questions. 

This old man with his grist mill, and salt works, and patch 
of cornfield, and semi-weekly newspaper, was no every-day 
man. In his younger days as sailor and master of a ship, he 
had seen the world. With keen observation and good memory 
his mind was well stored. He had — 

Old Greece and Rome surveyed, 
And the vast sense of Plato weighed. 

In the fall of the Harrison campaign, when the vessels 
were packing out their fish at the wharf in Truro, I saw his 
son William Pitt, during some discussion, dressed in oil 
trousers, green baize jacket, fish boots and sou'wester, jump 
upon a barrel of mackerel, as a Whig platform, and make an 
impromptu Harrison speech to hundreds of fishermen, who 
received it with great applause. Besides home politics, the 
old miller used to discourse of the Corn Laws, and the Corn 
League of England — fresh topics in his day — and of Ebenezer 
Elliott, the Corn Law rhymer. He had many stories to relate 
of his experience. The old miller has ceased from his labors, 
and the sound of the grinding is low. A stone to his memory 
in the Congregational churchyard has the following : 

He came down to the grave like a shock of corn fully ripe. 

In memory of 

Capt. 

Freeman Atkins. 

died 

Nov. i, 1855, 

JEt 79 years 1 mo 

& 14 days. 

Though time had set the seal of years upon his brow, 
Yet still that brow bowed not beneath the weight of care, 
Till by the reaper's hand in Death's embrace laid low, 
Like shock of golden grain well prepared. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

Fort Sumpter. Liberty Poles. War Meetings. Tall Flag Spars. Hoisting the Flag. 
Devotion to the Cause. Enrollment. Mutual Support Club. The Army. Volun- 
teers Mass. 43d. Nine Months' Men. Volunteers of 1862. Mass. 33d. Fighting 
Family. A Prison and a Monument. Prison Rules. Prison Fare. Active 
Service. Haps and Mishaps. Hard Marching. Good Fighting. The Work 
dene. Marching Home. Turning over the Flags. Served and saved the Country. 
The Navy. Accomplished Officer. Swallowed up. Father and Sons. Final Dis- 
charge. Gallant Commander. The Boy Sailor. Prize Master. Blockade Runner. 
Never heard from. The End. 

WITH the exception of the large towns, patriotism in 
the North did not assume positive or popular action 
till the attack upon Sumpter and call for troops. Truro 
promptly discussed the issue, and, as in the war of the Revo- 
lution, voted to fall in. In May a liberty pole was set up in 
the south part of the town, with clue formalities and enthusiasm. 
In June a pole measuring one hundred and one half feet, was 
planted on the hill north of Wilder's. It was a fine specimen 
of spar work by Isaac Collins, now of Provincetown. A large 
company was present ; a military turnout discharged cannon, 
etc. Some of the oldest people of the town, including John 
Pike, John Mayo and Mrs. Sally Collins, the latter over 
ninety years of age, hoisted the flag amid long cheers and 
patriotic songs. Able speeches were made by Captain Eben 
Davis of Somerville, Rev. E. W. Noble and others, all of 
which counciled devotion to the cause and the preservation of 
the flag at whatever cost. A little later a third pole was 
raised in North Truro with a like creditable baptism. During 
the war many meetings were held to discuss war questions 

473 



474 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

and provide men and means. Committees were chosen to 
confer with the Governor, etc. I have not been able to gather 
details of these meetings, but learn that there were no divi- 
sions ; that unusual equanimity and a common spirit of sacri- 
fice prevailed. When the war began, some of the fishermen 
thought their business ruined and their vessels worthless. 
Some of the faint-hearted would not fit out. The four years 
of the war were prosperous in every branch of the fisheries, 
so that every man who enlisted felt he was making a sacrifice 
of interest. I infer that a large proportion of the enlistments 
were made from patriotic devotion. Early in the war there 
were one hundred and fifty-six men liable to draft ; of that 
number, thirty-two only that either did not volunteer, or were 
drafted. These did not all serve. In 1865, M. W. Grant, 
military captain, returned to the town the enrollment of two 
hundred and seven names, age, occupation, etc., stated. The 
following is substantially a copy of a " Mutual Support Club," 
signed by one hundred and eleven men of Truro who were 
liable to military draft : 

We, the subscribers, each agree to pay the sum of twenty-five dollars towards 
a fund for furnishing three hundred dollars to such members of the Club as are 
drafted to the war. If the Club does not subscribe sufficient money to pay 
three hundred dollars to each and every member drafted, then it shall be ap- 
plied in proportion to the amount subscribed. 

N. B. Should any member of this Club drafted not be accepted by Gov- 
ernment, he shall refund the money advanced, for the benefit of the Club. 

Truro, May 16, 1864. [There may be a mistake in this date.] 

THE ARMY. 

John A. Gross, Henry R. Paine, Jeremiah H. Rich, 
Isaiah Snow, John Cacy, Daniel P. Smith, John P. Gro- 
zier, possibly others, whose names I have not been able to 
obtain, enlisted in the 43d Mass. Reg., as nine months' men. 
They served in North Carolina, and were on their way home 
when General Lee's army made its famous raid into Pennsyl- 
vania, preceding the battle of Gettysburg, when the 43d was 
sent to the defence of Washington. They were in the service 
about a year, and honorably discharged July 28, 1863. Part, 



WAR OF THE REBELLION. 475 

perhaps all, participated in the battles of Whitehall, Kingston, 
and Goldsboro. 

Jesse S. Pendergrace enlisted November 18, 1861, in the 
24th Mass. Vol. Was in the battles of Virginia, Goldsboro, 
N. C., Norris Island, S. C, and Bermuda Hundred. June 17, 
1864, at Wyer Bottom Church, Va. ; lost right arm, part of 
left hand, and other wounds, by a shell. Discharged November 
22, 1864, Corporal, Co. F. Mr. Pendergrace has since been a 
member of the Legislature ; now lives at Reading. 

Elkanah Paine Jr. enlisted November 25, 1861, in 
32d Mass. for three years. Was in all the battles fought 
in Virginia, and in the fight at Gettysburg. Was shot once 
in his knapsack, had the breech of his gun shattered by a 
ball, and another carried away a piece of his nose. His regi- 
ment went in with two hundred and eighty men, came out 
with eighty. When the three years were expired, enlisted for 
the second three years, or the war, and served till the fighting 
was over. Sergt. Paine probably smelt more powder, and 
saw more fighting, than any of the Truro boys. He was 
undoubtedly a model soldier, and earned over and over a com- 
mission, but was one of those modest men who innocently 
believed promotion would follow faithful service. 

Josiah R. Paine, brother of Elkanah and Henry R., 
enlisted September, 1862, in the 42d Mass. This included 
all the sons. Went to Galveston, Tex. ; taken prisoner by 
General Magruder; carried to Austin ; started for Vicksburg 
after forty days' march ; fed on ground cobs and corn and 
water ; they reached the Red River. Here the rebels found 
our gunboats, and released the prisoners on parole. Paine 
found his way to New Orleans, and thence home. 

At the call for more troops July, 1862, Samuel Knowles, H. 
P. Hughes, James A. Small, and Edward P. Sly volunteered 
to fill the Truro quota. Upon arrival at Lynhfield, Sly was 
rejected as being too slender for the service. The others 
were attached to Co. A, Mass. 33d, and ordered to the com- 
mand of General Seigel, in Virginia. After a few months' 
service, Co's. A and K were transferred to the Mass. 41st 
Infantry, with eight companies then in New York en route for 



476 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

New Orleans. Upon arrival in New Orleans Knowles was 
taken sick, and sent home in the spring of 1863. Hughes 
and Small joined their regiment at Baton Rouge. They 
scoured the country, and secured horses enough to mount 
the regiment when it was organized as the 3d Mass. Cav., 
doing good service at the seige of Port Hudson. Then 
ordered to New Orleans to recruit men and horses. In 
March, 1864, they entered on the Bank's campaign up Red 
River. Were in the severe engagements at Sabine Cross 
Road, on the eighth of April, where they suffered badly in 
killed and wounded. The next forty days were made up 
of constant fights and skirmishes, among which were the 
battles of Cane River, Muddy Bayou, Pineville, Bayou Boeuf, 
Snaggy Point, Bayou Deglades and Yellow Bayou. During 
the Red River retreat the third was assigned the duty of 
guarding the rear. Remained in Algiers till ordered to join 
the nineteenth army corps in the Shenandoah Valley against 
Early. Were in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, 
and at Cedar Creek, when Sheridan made his famous ride. 
Hughes was commissioned lieutenant after these fights, and 
Small was sergeant-major of the regiment from the time they 
first entered the valley. In the early spring of 1865 they 
operated against Mosby, and in general scouting duty till the 
surrender of Lee. Lieutenant Hughes was mustered out of 
the service at Falls Church, June 13, 1865, and Sergeant 
Major Small, on the twenty-second of May, having served 
thirty-four months, passing through nearly twenty battles, and 
many skirmishes, without a scratch. 

Joseph R. Gross enlisted as a private; did garrison duty in 
Boston Harbor. Jeremiah Thomas Paine, 39th Reg. Mass 
Vol. Co. E., died in Washington, Oct. 12, 1863, aged 30 years 
and 27 days ; Edward Winslow, 20th Reg. Mass. Vol. Co. H., 
died in Washington, March 22, 1862, aged 28 years. Remains 
repose in the cemetery of the Congregational Church. John 
Brimmer, drummer boy, enlisted from Well fleet for three 
years ; was shot. 

John Wilson, Benjamin K. Lombard, John L. D. 
Hopkins, John C. Rider, and Enoch S. Hamilton, 



WAR OF THE REBELLION. 477 

enlisted Dec, 1863, in the 58th Mass., Co., E. for three years. 
For volunteering to do hazardous service at the fight of Peters- 
burg, Hopkins was promoted to sergeant of Co A. ; was soon 
after taken prisoner and carried to Salisbury, N. C, where he 
died Feb, 12, 1863, aged 21 years, 11 months. A handsome 
monument stands to his memory and valor in the Congrega- 
tional churchyard, Truro. John C. Rider on the long, fatigu- 
ing march of five days, not having become used to 
such service, " fell out by the way through sheer 
exhaustion," says his companion John Wilson. He was 
picked up by the guerillas and carried to Andersonville, where 
he died. E. S. Hamilton followed his regiment through the 
war ; was in some of the great fights in Virginia ; had his gun 
shattered by a ball in hot work, but came out unharmed. Mr. 
Hamilton is now in the Boston Custom House. 

Benjamin Keith Lombard, an adopted son of John Atkins, 
belonged to Co. A. On the morning of May 5, 1864, to the 
Wilderness, having marched twenty-two miles, many fell out 
through fatigue ; of these ten were taken prisoners, and sent 
to Andersonville Prison. Young Lombard was among the 
number. He died there July 1 1, 1864. His funeral services 
were held in Truro, April 23, 1865. A hymn composed by 
his brother, to the tune of " Break it gently to his mother." 
was sung by the choir. 

John Wilson entered the Navy December 25, 1861. Was 
transferred to U. S. S. Western World, where he served 
over two years, most of the time in blockade service with the 
South Atlantic blockade squadron. After receiving his dis- 
charge, enlisted as noticed above. Left for the front April 20, 
1864. Did hard fighting in several battles. At the fight at 
Petersburg was taken prisoner and sent to Danville, Va., 
where he remained eight months. Was robbed of everything, 
and nearly starved. The orders were that prisoners should 
not look out of the windows. For unintentionally disobeying 
this order, a young man forfeited his life, being shot by a guard. 
He was a comrade of Wilson's, who watched over him till he 
breathed his last. 

Samuel H. Wharf, Thomas Lowe, and William R. 



478 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Carnes (the last two as Provincetown quota) entered 3d Mass. 
Cav.,Juiy 28, 1862. Did service in Louisiana and Mississippi 
till close of the war. 

Samuel Paine, Barnabas Cook, Shubael A. Snow, three 
years' men in the 24th Mass. Vol. Co. F. Snow was wounded 
in 1864. Health was impaired by service. Died of consump- 
tion 1876, aged 43 Mr Paine is a citizen of Charlestown. 

John S. Rich was a carpenter ; went to Iowa in 1857; built 
the first frame schoolhouse in the county of Dyer. When the 
news of Bull Run reached them, said to his partner the 
country needed his service ; closed up and rode horseback 
seventy-two miles to Omaha ; enlisted in the 1st Neb. Cav. as 
private; did not know a man in the State. At St. Louis was 
placed in " Curtis Horse Cav." At the battle of Fort Don- 
aldson ; did scouting service through Middle Tennessee. At 
Murphysborough, Chickamaugua. On return from tearing up 
the Macon Railroad, only sixty men left of the regiment; the 
rest were taken prisoners or driven into the river or timber. 
Commissioned 2d lieut. in '63, and 1st lieut. in '64. On the 
expedition against the raider Wheeler was in command of a 
detachment of horse from his regiment. In the fight at Nash- 
ville and Pulaski, in Hood's retreat and last fight at Selma. 
Eleven miles from Jeff Davis when taken prisoner. After 
close of three years, reenlisted for 2d three years or the war. 
Discharged at Nashville after four years' active service. In 
several great fights, and almost numberless skirmishes, without 
a wound. Was engaged in building in Nashville till 1871 ; 
built several colleges and public buildings. Moved to Maiden, 
Mass., where he now resides. 

Amasa Elliot Paine was a member of the Medical School 
at Harvard. Entered a private in the 43d Mass. in 1862 at 
the age of 19. Was assigned to Hospital Department; con- 
tinued till term of service expired. After attending the 
Harvard course of lectures, received appointment as military 
cadet in the reg. army. Served fourteen months in Mt. 
Pleasant Hospital, Washington. Then graduated at the 
Georgetown Medical School ; received a commission as assist- 
ant surgeon in the 104th Col. Reg't., where he served till mus- 



WAR OF THE REBELLION. 479 

tered out in 1866. Dr. Paine is now a practising physician 
with a growing reputation, in Brockton, Mass. 

Richard T. Lombard enlisted April 19, 1861, while a law 
student in Boston. Mustered into 16th Mass. Vol. Infantry, 
June 30, 1861, as private; served as private, corporal, and 
sergeant. At Second Bull Run, August 29, was appointed 
2d lieut. for good conduct; promoted to 1st lieut, capt., 
and on a Brig. Gen. Staff. Later Judge Advocate on Major 
Gen. Staff. End of three years assigned to nth Mass. Battal- 
lion and appointed major. Mustered out after three years 
and four months. Was engaged in twenty-seven battles and 
skirmishes, including Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, 
second Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, and 
Petersburg. Was several times hit by bullets, but not seriously 
wounded. Twice mentioned in general orders for bravery on 
the field. Mr. Lombard resumed the study of the law, was 
admitted to the bar and secured a good practice in Boston, 
which he was obliged to abandon on account of poor health 
caused by army service. Has travelled extensively ; now on a 
farm, and practising law at Wayland. 

THE NAVY. 

Jan. 22, 1862, Benjamin Dyer Jr. was appointed acting 
master on gunboat MaJieska. Aug. 25, 1864, was ordered to 
the command of steamer Home ; remained till April 12, 1865, 
when ordered to the St. Louis at Port Royal. Was a brave and 
accomplished commander. Joined the navy as acting master 
Sept. 1 1, 1866. Appointed to the Pacific squadron and joined 
the Dakota at Caloa, with wife and two children. Was next 
transferred to the store ship Fredouia, on board of which both 
himself and wife were swallowed up by the earthquake in 
Arica Bay, Peru, August 25, 1868, aged forty-four. Their two 
children were on shore at the time of the earthquake, one 
of whom, Arthur W. Dyer, furnished the particulars of this 
notice. 

Captain Frederick A. Gross entered the Navy as 



480 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



acting ensign, May 30, 1863. Received instruction in gun- 
nery in New York. July 7 was ordered to the bark Release 
in Boston. Sailed for Beauford, S. C. Served as executive 
officer. Next transferred to steamer Gettysburg, of the North 
Atlantic blockading squadron. Captured several prizes. Early 
in March, 1864, captured the English steamer Don, of which 
he was made prize master and sent to Boston. 

Returned to the Gettysburg, was at both battles of Fort 
Fisher, where several officers were killed ; was sent home in 
charge of the bodies of Acting Paymaster Gillett of Hartford, 
Ct., and Acting Ensign Laughton of Portsmouth, N. H. 
March 17, 1865, was ordered to the steamer Advance. May 
8th was promoted to acting master ; ordered to the European 
squadron. July 21st, at Flushing, was transferred to frigate 
Niagara. December she went out of commission, the war 
beino" ended, and Acting Master Gross received an honorable 
discharge December 25, 1865. Died in Boston, January 8, 
1 87 1, aged 58 years ; buried with his wife, who soon followed, 
and kindred in Truro. 

Frederick A. Gross Jr. entered the Navy December 29, 
1863, as acting master's mate. Was sent to steamer Cowslip 
to join the West Gulf squadron under Admiral Farragut. 
Was at the battle of Fort Morgan August 5, 1864, when the 
entire rebel fleet, with one exception, including the ram 
Tennessee, were captured. Was next transferred to steamer 
Pocahontas, receiving an honorable discharge October 25, 1865. 

Thomas H. P. Gross, second son of Captain Frederick, was 
appointed acting master's mate about July, 1863. Served on 
steamers Zouave, Maratanza, and Gettysburg ; captured several 
prizes, and was in both fights at Fort Fisher. Resigned June 
28, 1865. It will be noticed that Captain Gross had two sons 
in the navy and one in the army, which was all his stock and 
all he had to offer. 

John R. Atkins received an appointment as acting mas- 
ter's mate, June 6, 1864. First ordered to supply steamer 
Admiral from New York to Mexico, touching at all the inter- 
vening ports. Went to the hospital in New York in Decem- 
ber. Reported for duty June 12, 1865, and was ordered to 



WAR OF THE REBELLION. 481 

the steamer Georgia, 19th ; was promoted to acting ensign 
and sent to the South Atlantic Blockading squadron, went to 
Aspinwall to protect the Panama Railroad and American 
citizens. September 2d was granted a month's leave of 
absence. Honorably discharged November 11, 1865. 
I Commander Thomas L. Peterson, April, 1862, entered 
the Navy. In July was stationed on the flag-ship Hartford. 
February 22, 1863, was promoted as acting master commander, 

and ordered on gunboat D in the Bay of Mexico. March 

28, 1863, at Pattersonville, Texas, while standing by the pilot 
giving orders, was struck in the breast by a ball, from which 
he fell dead on the spot, aged 41 years. Was buried at Brash- 
ear City, now Morgan City, La. Commander Peterson was a 
brave and gallant officer. His position was fairly won, but 
heeding no danger, he ventured beyond orders, and fell a sac- 
rifice to his ambition to win fresh honor. 

Isaac E. Aydelotte entered the Navy early in the war 
when sixteen years of age. Served two years on gunboat 
Western World, in company with John Wilson. Young 
Aydelotte contracted disease, and came home, where he died 
of consumption March 15, 1863, aged eighteen years. 

Robert W. Laird was appointed in the Navy December, 

1863. Ordered to steamer Savannah May 12, 1864. June 15, 
to steamer Nezv Hampshire, with fourteen hundred men and 
stores for S. Atlantic squadron. Returned on account of 
small-pox, July 22; ordered to steamer Nonvich as acting 
ensign ; on blockade duty on St. John's River, Florida, where 
the ship rendered important service. Honorably discharged 
August 30, 1865. 

James Paul Knowles, of Roxbury District, grad. H. C, 
born in Truro, was master's mate of warship Seminole, and prize 
master of ship Robert Peel, blockade runner. Died in Roxbury, 

1864, aged 28 years. Reuben Pearce entered U. S. Receiving 
Ship Ohio, by certificate, July 29, 1864. Mr. Pearce lived 
near the boundary line between Wellfleet and Truro, about 
which some question was made, and whether owing to that 
fact, or that he was drafted, or some other reason, it was 
never known what ship he was transferred to, or what branch 



48 2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

of the service. He was killed or died from sickness. A cer- 
tificate signed by Charles Green, captain U. S. Receiving 
Ship Ohio, now in possession of the town, states that Reuben 
Pearce, a citizen of Truro, aged 28, shipped July 24, 1864. 

Smith K. Hopkins received an appointment as acting 
ensign on the steamer Fort Jackson. Luther Smith was 
appointed acting ensign, and was an efficient officer. He 
died of consumption shortly after receiving his discharge. I 
have not been able to learn of his service. William M. Arm- 
strong was appointed acting master of steamer Inka. His 
brother, C. H. Armstrong, of steamer Union. 

In closing this chapter, though conscious that partial justice 
only has been done, I am as conscious that it is not for want 
of effort on my part. I have felt the importance of placing 
in these pages a full and correct history of the action of the 
town and of the patriotic men who served their country and 
laid down their lives, knowing how difficult, if not impossible, 
it would be in later years. Being in another part of the 
country where armies met, and my own home often threatened, 
I knew little in particular that was going on in the North, and 
have been obliged to gain information at great expense of time 
and labor, from best seeming sources. If, therefore, important 
omissions occur, and errors have crept in, it must be under- 
stood we have aimed to render a faithful record, and have 
not been insensible to our trust or to the noble service ren- 
dered by those who filled the ranks of the Army and Navy 
from the old town in the great War of the Rebellion. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
SHIPWRECK. 

Dedicatory. God knows. Unrest. The missing Ship. Toil. Missing Link. Heroines. 
Deacon Moses Paine. A Diary. The first mentioned. Four Masters. Ship 
America. Salem Gazette. Captain John Simpson. John S. Emery. Three Salem 
Ships. The Brutus. The Man in a Sand Mask. Elegy. An intuitive Nav- 
igator. A gentle Sailor. 1825 a fatal Year. Visitor to a Townsman's Grave after 
forty-five Years. Clutching for Life. The black Flag. Duty and the Grave. A 
noble Woman. The young Merchant. A sad Sunday. The Poet. Towed under. 
October Gale of 184 1. The lost Fleet. Account of Joshua Knowles. Account of 
Matthias Rich. Other Notes. A Sea Feat. Love's Phantom. Mysterious Calamity. 
The Fishermen's Graves. A family Record. The venerable Skipper lost near his 
own Doorstone. The October Gale of 1 85 1. Honor to his Craft. Heroes. The 
fearless Captain. A true Sailor. Buried at Sea. Not divided in Death. 

DEDICATORY. 

O fleet that silent tarries 

Along our listening land, 
No night to come dismays thee, 

No bar and tempest strand. 

O sails that seek no shelter, 

That need no beacon-light; 
In vain our harbors open, 

In vain our hearts invite 1 

O watchers, all ye look for 

Will come, or soon or late ; 
They cannot always tarry, 

Ye cannot always wait. 

For this work — By Hiram Rich. 

A STATEMENT was made in a late English paper, that 
among the bodies recovered from the wreck of the ill- 
fated ship NortJiflcet, at Lydd, near Dungenass, was a beautiful 
child. The parish constable answered the undertaker for the 

4S3 



484 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

name. The stern man, used to hard sights, looked at the fair 
dead child, and with tearful eyes and trembling voice said, 
"God knows." " So let the name be," said the undertaker. 
They buried the child with tender care, placing at the grave a 
stone with only this inscription : 

GOD KNOWS. 

Of that unnumbered company from this town who have 
made their graves in ocean depths, or in distant lands, with- 
out stone, or cross, or sign, scattered world-wide, and that 
cannot be gathered by mortal hands, it is a consoling thought 
that God knows, and they are in his keeping. 

It matters little to the dead of whom we write, whether 
they lay down in the calm hush of home, with loving hands to 
administer, and loving hearts to mourn, or were hurried with 
the crushing wreck, unshrouded and uncoffined. But to the 
living there is left a painful unrest, a tempest that never 
calms, a storm that never sleeps. A thousand recollections 
disturb, and a thousand hopes and fears float on till the 
last day of life. In the fresh glow of youth, in the strength 
of sturdy manhood, they sailed away from home, but never 
returned. 

Day after day, year after year, 

And yet she does not come ; 
And though they watch and pray and weep, 
All useless is the watch they keep, 

The ship will not come home. 

When marble shafts and stately hatchments crumble to 
dust, we trust the names here gathered by persevering toil 
may be cherished and held in grateful remembrance. The 
value of such a connection will appear when we know there 
are thousands of people who have searched all their lives, and 
perhaps spent thousands of dollars, to find the name and fate 
of some ancestor, the missing link between past generations. 
The first hundred years of the history of Truro, closing with 
the eighteenth century, was a long, perilous night. Hun- 




LAUNCHING TUB: LIFEBOAT. 



SHIPWRECK. 487 

dreds perished by sea, and in foreign lands, in the army and 
navy, in hospitals and prison-ships, whose names can never 
be gathered. 

When the record comes to us " lost at sea," we shall men- 
tion the name only. With the exception of what may have 
been gathered from old gravestones, or of incidental cases, 
we know little of the casualties incident to the sea, till contem- 
porary with Mr. Damon's Register, about the close of the 
Revolutionary War, when information is collected from other 
sources. 

The loss of young husbands and fathers, so often mentioned, 
is the beginning of many sad histories. Devoted husbands 
leave their young children and wives, to whom life was all 
sunshine and promise, never to return. Another life, such as 
cannot be written, now unfolds. Weeks or months of intensi- 
fied agony intervene, in which the lone wife surveys her life- 
work, counts the cost, and accepts the situation. Calmly and 
cheerfully, armed in triple steel with a new life, she comes 
forth, and bravely enters upon her mission. She has no more 
time to weep or mourn ; broken heart and blighted hopes are 
left in the crucial. Henceforth duty is her star. Has God 
hedged her in ? Nay, verily. She has now become a 
co-worker with God, and through this painful experience, or 
providence, these children may bless the world. These 
mothers are heroines. They deserve tablets and monuments ; 
but in all our humble churchyards their unmarked, lowly 
graves are found. 

It is an interesting fact that the first names here recorded 
were found in the diary of Deacon Moses Paine, now in posses- 
sion of Josiah Paine Esq., of Harwich, without which appar- 
ently trifling duty of a thoughtful boy, we should have had 
no knowledge of this event. " November ye 29, 1716, this 
day Captain Joshua Doane, Thomas Pitty, George Vickery, 
William Shustan, Joseph Sweat (Sweet) and Sam Charles, 
(an Indian) were drowned in going from Eastham Harbor to 
Billinsgate." 

Josiah, b. 1 73 1 ; Micah, b. 1726, sons of Micah Gross, were 
among the first lost at sea of which there is any knowledge. 



488 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

John Atkins aged 25, 1754; Elisha Paine aged 23, 1769; 
Jaazaniah Gross aged 25, 1770. From the town record, 
"Barnabas Paine Jr., of Truro, died in Portsmouth Harbor, 
Old England, on the tenth day of December, 1757, in the 
thirtieth year of his age, having been carried there by John 
Stott, commander of a man-of-war schooner called the Gibral- 
tar Prize" Ebenezer Dyer aged 19, d. in S. C. 1778 ; Captain 
David Snow aged 40, 1749 ; Thomas W. Lombard, 1780 ; 
Jedediah Paine Jr., aged 24, 1790; Benjamin Lombard aged 
23, d. at the W. I., 1794; Nathaniel Knowles aged 26, d. at 
sea 1783 ; Hutta Dyer aged 21, d. at New York, 1781 ; John 
Dyer aged 27, ± at Jamaica, W. I. ; Joshua Atkins, 1794; 
John, aged 24, son of Captain Gamaliel Smith, 1794; Captain 
Nathaniel Harding, aged 26, 1794; Isaiah Atkins, aged 19, d. 
at the W. I; Joshua Paine, aged 28, 1792; Jonathan Collins 
Jr., aged 16, drowned near Pamet Harbor, 1792; Paul Dyer 
3d, aged 20, Thomas Smith, aged 18, Hugh Paine, aged 22, 
and John Cobb, aged 21, were lost in one vessel December 
14, 1793 ; Binney Lombard, aged 22, and Nehemiah Harding, 
aged 21, d. of small-pox at the W. I., 1704 ; John Smith, aged 
25; Eliakim Paine, aged 23, and Thomas Cobb Paine, were 
lost from one vessel, Feburary 7, 1794; Nehemiah Knowles, 
and William Pitt Atkins, aged 29, d. at S. C, 1794 ; Barzilliar 
Smith Jr., Samuel Hincks, aged 25, and Ebenezer Collins, 
aged 17, were lost coming from the Grand Bank, 1794 ; Daniel 
Snow, aged 28, d. at S. C. 1794 ; John Atkins, aged 25, 1794 ; 
Daniel Snow, aged 17, 1796. 

Rev. Dr. Freeman says, " In the time of the contest between 
Great Britain and America, four masters of vessels, with all 
their men, the greater part of whom belonged to Truro, were 
lost at sea." Although this event happened less than a hun- 
dred years ago, and in the nature of the case, must have over- 
shadowed the town with desolation, yet I have not been able 
to gain a shadow of further information. 

The ship America, owned by Col. Elisha Doane of Well- 
fleet, commanded by his son William, foundered at sea 1783. 
It is understood that there were several Truro men on board 
but I can learn nothing further. 



SHIPWRECK. 489 

Ephraim Paine Rich, aged 30, d. at St. Lucas, 1793. 
Freeman Collins, aged 26, d. on his passage from the W. I., 
1895. John Brown, aged 20, John Dyer, aged 28, Jesse 
Brewer, aged 22, and Joseph Smith, aged 13, d. in the W. I. 
June l, 1795: probably a whole crew. Jonathan Collins, son 
of Joseph, aged 17, and Anthony Snow Jr., lost coming from 
the Grand Bank, 1796; Archelaus Smith, his eldest son, 
Ephraim, brother-in-law Thomas Kenney, and Zephaniah 
Hatch, were lost in one vessel, Dec, 1795 ; Reuben Rich, 
aged 23, d. at S. C, 1796; John Atkins, aged 21, lost at sea 
soon after leaving Carolina, 1797 ; James Atkins, aged 45, 
1797; Samuel Avery, aged 17, 1797; Elisha Rich, 1797; 
Isaiah Paine, aged 22, 1798; Capt. Silas Knowles, aged 36, 

1798 ; Jeremiah Hopkins, aged 20, d. at Virginia, 1798 ; 
Richard Stevens, aged 20, 1799 > Richard Jr. about 1795, and 
Snow, aged 22, 1799, brothers of Capt. Doane Rich ; Sylvanus 
Jr. aged 23, son of Esq. Sylvanus Snow, d. at London, 1799 ; 
Isaac Snow, aged 23, d. at New Providence. Captain John 
Hughes, aged 48, Captain Shubael Coan, aged 34, Paul Dyer 
Jr., aged 29, and Hutta Dyer, aged 17, were drowned at the 
Pond Landing from a whale boat, returning from their vessel , 
Richard Rich 4th, Noah Rich, and Benjamin, aged 14, son of 
Samuel Treat, d. at Havana, 1799, supposed from one vessel ; 
Daniel Lombard, aged 23, 1799; Jonathan Paine, aged 34, 

1799 ; Ephraim Lombard, aged 25, 1799 ; Joseph Atkins, 
aged 39, d. W. I., Dec, 1799 ; Sylvanus Rich, aged 20, d. at 
Surinam, 1800 ; James Webb, aged 24, d. at Carolina of small- 
pox, 1800 ; Ebenezer Collins, aged 22, d. on passage from the 
W. I., 1800; James Laha, aged 18, d. at sea 1809 ; Richard 
Knowles, aged 24, d. in Europe, small-pox, 1800 ; Obadiah 
Rider, aged 17, d. with yellow fever on passage from W. I., 
1800; Barnabas Higgins, aged 32; Josiah Snow, aged 41, 
lost returning from the Grand Bank, 1800; Sept. 8, Caleb, 
aged 18, son of Paul Dyer, and Richard Jr., aged 17, son ol 
Richard Rich 3d., d. at Norfolk, 1800 ; Joshua Rich Jr., aged 
23, sailed from Liverpool for Boston, never heard from, 1799. 

A memorable gale occurred November 20, 1798. The 
Salem Gazette of November 30, 1798, at Essex Institute, has 



490 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

the following : " There are said to be seven vessels ashore on 
Cape Cod that have gone to pieces." The account given to a 
vessel that anchored off near the shore since the gale was, 
that twenty-five bodies had been picked up and buried. It is 
uncertain whether any lives have been saved. The schooner 
Rachel, Captain John Simpson, of Frenchman's Bay (Sulli- 
van), was no doubt one of the vessels above named. Refer- 
ring to this notice we welcome to our already over-crowded 
pages, the long account furnished by John S. Emery, of 
Boston, not only as a beautiful tribute of family affection, but 
as an example of historic interest and veneration worthy of 
imitation : 



About the middle of November. 1798, Captain John Simpson, of Sullivan, 
Maine, a prominent citizen of that town, sailed from that place for Salem, 
Mass., in command of the schooner Rachel, a vessel of about one hundred 
tons, nearly new, of which he was sole owner, laden with lumber, and having on 
board a crew consisting of the following persons, viz. : 

William Abbott, mate, who had been in charge of the vessel the previous 
summer; Stephen Merchant, Zachariah Hodgkins, and James Springer; aiso 
Paul Dudley Sargent Jr., son of Colonel Paul D. Sargent of Sullivan, who was 
intending to spend the following winter at school in Salem. They left Sullivan 
in company with the new schooner Diana, commanded by Captain Josiah Simp- 
son Jr., a brother of John, and came through the inland passage from French- 
man's Bay to White Head, coming through Deer Island and Fox Island 
thoroughfares. On arriving at White Head they made a harbor at Seal Harbor, 
and both vessels sailed from there probably about the fifteenth of November, 
and on arriving off Herring Gut Harbor, St. George, Maine, some ten or 
twelve miles from White Head, the weather became threatening, with the wind 
northeast, and giving indications of a storm. The Diana hauled up and went 
into Herring Gut, while the Rachel kept on for Salem. The vessels were so near 
that the two brothers talked over the situation, and the captain of the Diana 
decided to make a harbor, while the captain of the Rachel concluded, as it was a 
fair wind, he would keep on, hoping to make a quick run to Salem. 

The impending storm proved to be one of the most severe ever known in New 
England, the snow falling to a depth of from four to six feet, greatly impeding 
and obstructing the travel on what were then called the "post roads," for a long 
time. The newspapers of that time, in describing the storm, said that it par- 
tially cleared off once or twice after its commencement, and then came on again 
more violent than ever. 

After the storm was over, seven vessels were found to have gone ashoie on 
Cape Cod, and many, or most of their crews, were all lost. Among them was 
ihe Rachel. She was found ashore, with all her crew lost, a short distance below 
or south of where the Highland Light now stands, between the second and third 
hummocks, or sand-hills. 



SHIPWRECK. 



491 



The bodies of the crew were all found on the wreck or on the beach, and that 
of Captain Simpson was easily recognized from his clothing and things found in 
it. And that of the young man Sargent was known from his wearing apparel 
being different from that of the crew of the vessel. There were many little 
things found belonging to Captain Simpson which were carefully preserved and 
sent to his family. Among them were a small trunk covered with seal skin and 
a small pocket handkerchief that was put in his pocket by his little daughter i 
(then five years old) the day he sailed from home, and also a pearl-handled I 
pocket-knife. The above articles are now in possession of his grandchildren. 
The bodies were all carefully buried in the old burying-ground at North Truro; 
and the following summer Captain James Sullivan, a brother-in-law of Captain 
Simpson, and in charge of one of his vessels, went to Truro and put up a rough 
slatestone slab at his grave, which afterwards helped to identify the place of 
their burial. He also received the little relics that were saved, or found, and 
took them home to Sullivan. 

In 187S, John S. Emery and Erastus O. Emery of Boston, grandsons of Captain 
Simpson, went to Truro, and by the aid of Captain Jesse, and Miss Polly Col- 
lins, whose father helped to Lury the Ra-c fiefs crew, found their resting-place ; 
and later, the same year, John S. Emery erected a marble tablet of large size 
over the grave of his grandfather. It is set in a base made from Sullivan gran- 
ite quarried near the home of Captain Simpson, and the tablet is of fine Italian 
marble, made by Messrs. Bowker, Torrey & Co., of Boston, and bears the follow- 
ing inscription : 

" This tablet marks the burial-place of Captain John Simpson, of Sullivan, 
Maine, aged 35 years, master of sch. Rachel, of that place, who, with his entire 
crew, consisting of the following persons, viz., Paul Dudley Sargent Jr. (passen- 
ger), William Abbott, Stephen W. Merchant, Zachariah Hodgkins, and one 
other [James Springer, name not positively known when tablet was made] were 
lost on the wreck of the above vessel near this place, in the memorable snow- 
storm Nov. 20, 179S, and afterwards buried here. 

" Erected in 1878, in memory of Captain Simpson, by his grandson, John S. 
Emery of Boston." 

For more than fifty years, a beautiful March day would 
often be associated with "The three Salem Ships," and every 
great snowstorm following a fine day in March, would revive 
the story of "The three East Indiamen from Salem" 
Through the attention of Mr. John S. Emery of Boston, who 
perhaps holds the most valuable files of shipping news in the 
country, I have been furnished with copies of the Boston 
Independent Chronicle, from which I gather the following his- 
tory : — 

March 4, 1802: — On Sunday last week the three following ships, belonging to 
G. Crowningshield & Sons, sailed from Salem on foreign voyages, viz. : The 



492 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Ulysses, Brutus and Volutin. Capt 's Brown, J. Cook and S. Cook. Accounts 
from Cape Cod make it appear too probable that the whole were cast away on 
the back of Cape Cod. 

March 8th : — With respect to the fate of the Salem vessels, mentioned in our 
last, we extract the following from the Salem Gazette : A state of anxious uncer- 
tainty concerning the fate of the Brutus and her consorts, the Ulysses and Volulia, 
has existed ever since the first report of their being wrecked on Cape Cod in the 
late severe snowstorm, until yesterday, when a melancholy relief was afforded by 
letters from Capt 's S. & J. Cook. These three valuable ships sailed from Salem 
together on Sunday, the 21st ult. It appears from the letters that they kept com- 
pany together until twelve o'clock at night, etc. 

The three ships were driven ashore not far from the Peaked 
Hills, at about the same time, a mile or two from each other. 
The Brutus was a total loss ; five only of her crew were saved. 
Both of the other crews were saved ; the ships were a total 
loss. 

During a severe easterly storm in 1880, a portion of the 
bank was washed away where the Brutus was wrecked. Under 
the bank was found the skeleton of a man with silver coin and 
a watch, which had stopped at two o'clock. It is supposed to 
have been an officer of the Brutus. Two o'clock was about 
the time she came into the surf, and the wheels of the watch 
and the wheels of life stood still and had been wrapped in 
their sandy winding-sheet for seventy-eight years. 

In 1 804 Captain Paul Knowles, aged 43, with his eldest son 
Paul, aged 14, and William Lombard, first officer, aged 50, 
were lost in a gale on Cohasset Rocks. He was in a brig 
from Spain bound to Boston, had had a long passage ; was 
spoken a few days previously and reported had suffered 
severely by sickness and scarcity of food. A well-preserved 
portrait of Captain Knowles, painted in France according to 
the fashion of the times, is in possession of Mrs. L. P. Rich. 

Captain Caleb Knowles, aged 38, of ship Confidence, died on 
his passage from Senegal to Boston, October 8, 1805. Mr. 
Damon remarks, " He was an enterprising and benevolent 
man. In his death not only his family and friends sustain a 
great loss, but many poor people in the town." Thomas 
Atkins, second officer, also died on the passage. His chief 
officer, his younger brother Isaiah, took charge of the ship. 



SHIPWRECK. 493 

After his arrival at Boston was placed in command for a 
voyage to the coast of Africa. He sailed March 24, 1806. 
The first night out was capsized in a white squall near Race 
Point, and every soul was lost. The wreck drifted on the 
Shoal Ground of Wellfleet. Captain Knowles was twenty-six 
years of age. I here introduce a single verse from the " elegy " 
of twenty-six, t ; at were written on that occasion. 

'Twas on the twenty-third of March, 

Upon a Sunday morn, 
There sailed the fair ship Confidence, 

To India she was bound. 

Zaccheus Knowles, aged 44, was lost overboard near Wood 
End from a small vessel from Plymouth, November 11, 1814. 
The above four were brothers ; sons of Captain Paul Knowles, 
who built and lived in the house last occupied by his daughter, 
Mrs. Childs. Captain John Elliot Knowles, aged 30, and 
Reuben Brewer, aged 25, officer, were lost, with all hands, on 
the passage to Honduras, 1832. Captain Zaccheus Knowles, 
son of Zaccheus above, aged 25, d. at Mariguana, W. I., 1822. 
Was the father of Mrs. O. R. Gross of New York, and Mrs. 
Winslow of Provincetown. John Snow Jr., aged about 22, d. 
at same time with Captain Knowles ; Nathaniel Dyer, aged 
44, d. abroad, 1801 ; James Stevens, aged 32, d. at Norfolk, 
1 80 1 ; Benj. Lewis, aged 19, d. at Havana, 1801 ; Thomas 
Knowles d. on passage from W. I., 1801 ; William 
Treat, aged 18, d. at Havana, 1801 ; Sylvanus Treat, 
aged 24, d. away from home, 1801 ; Uriah Rich, aged 
26, d. at Havana, 1801 ; Joseph Small Jr., aged 24, d. on pas- 
sage from W. I., 1 80 1 ; Simon Lombard, aged 45, d. at the 
eastward, buried on Green Island, 1802 ; Joshua Dyer, aged 
28, and William Thayer, aged 16, boat capsized by a squall 
while they were fishing in the bay, 1803; John Avery Jr., 
aged 29, d. at Charleston, S. C, 1804; Jesse Small d. suddenly 
at sea, 1804 ; Solomon Snow, aged 22, son of Esq. Sylvanus, 
d. at sea, 1805 ; Captain George Pike, 1805 ; Nehemiah 
Somes Rich, 1805 ; Captain John Snow 3d, d. at Savannah, 
1805 ; "a friendly and benevolent man." I have also a record 



494 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

of Captain Jonathan Snow, died the same year at Savannah 
aged 33. It is reasonable that the same individual is meant, 
and as the first is made by Mr. Damon, it is most likely to be 
correct, but I have no assurance that they are not both reliable. 
John Cole, aged 22, d. at the West Indies, 1805. Captain 
Thomas Smith Rich, aged 32, d. in Charleston, S. C, 1807. 
Captain Benjamin Parker Lombard, aged 31, d. on his home- 
ward passage from the River La Platte, 1807. Thomas Smith, 
aged 21, 1809. David C. Cobb, aged 22, 1808. Elisha 
Higgins, 1808. Cornelius Shaw, aged 27, d. at Havana, 

1809. Thomas Millon, aged 19, d. on passage from West 
Indies. Captain Benjamin Rich, aged 23, lost in the Medi- 
terranean Sea, 1809. Reuben Rich, aged 23, d. at Charleston, 
S. C, 1809. Richard Rich Snow, aged 28, killed at sea by 
the breaking of a boom, 1809. Captain Jonathan Harding- 
aged 31, d. at St. Pierre, Martinique, of yellow fever. " He 
was an active and industrious man ; his death was a great loss 
to his family, and a loss to society." James Rich, aged 41, 

1 8 10. Solomon, aged 24, the last of six sons of Paul Dyer, 
fell overboard from the topmast, 1809. Samuel Atwood, d. at 
the West Indies, 1809. Captain Isaiah Harding, aged 24, d. 
on his homeward passage from the West Indies, 1809. James 
Harding Dyer, aged 50, drowned near Freeport, January 7, 
1810. Nathaniel Rich fell from aloft, instantly killed, 1810. 
Hawes Atwood, aged 22, d. at Havanna, 18 10. John Brewer 
d. at Tonningen, 18 10. Richard Higgins Paine, aged 22. d. 
of small-pox on homeward passage from Cadiz, 1810. "A 
steady young man." Sylvanus Dyer, aged 47, in a boat alone 
which was capsized near Pamet Harbor, from Boston, 18 10. 
Joseph Atkins Lombard, aged 18, d. of lockjaw at the Cape 
of Good Hope, 1810. "A steady and promising youth." 
Richard Snow Collins, aged 23, lost on homeward passage 
from Cadiz, 1810. "A very active and likely young man." 
Job Avery, aged 21, son of John, was lost overboard, home- 
ward passage from Tonningen, 18 10. "A steady young 
man." Enoch Snow, aged 20, lost on his homeward passage 
from Gottenburg, 1810. "He was a steady and promising 
young man." Captain Obadiah Rich, aged 35, d. December 



SHIPWRECK. 



495 



24, 1 8 10, on his passage from Archangel to New York, and 
was buried on Staten Island. Captain Rich is referred to by 
Doctor Dwight. He was a prosperous and energetic master 
mariner. He was by intuition a skilful navigator. He could 
keep a better dead reckoning with fewer figures than any sailor 
ever known. A few chalk marks on the cabin door or at the 
head of his berth, and he knew his position on the Western 
ocean, whatever wind or weather, as well as if in his father's 
cornfield. His book-learning was not much, but his percep- 
tion was powerful. Thomas Mayo, master, aged 40 ; his son 
Thomas, aged 18; his brother Samuel, aged 35; brother-in- 
law Moses Paine, aged about 27 ; father of Captain Jeremiah 
Paine ; James Rich, aged 40 ; and Zoheth Smith Jr., aged 17; 
perhaps others sailed from home on the schooner Washington, 
for a second fare to the Grand Bank, 181 5 ; never heard from. 

Josiah Skull, aged 21, lost overboard on passage from north 
of Europe, 181 1. Abraham Coan, aged 24, killed at Queen 
Charlotte's Island, Nootka Sound, in an adventure when the 
natives made an attack on the ship, 181 1. Lewis Lombard 
Chapman, aged 19, 181 1. George W. Spencer Ellis, aged 12, 
drowned near Pamet Harbor, 1812 ; a lad who lived with 
Richard Rich. John Lee, aged 23, d. in Washington, N. C, 
1812. Captain Nehemiah Harding, aged 24; ship foundered 
in a heavy gale on passage from Europe to Boston, Aug. 25, 
181 2. Captain Eleazer Lewis, lost on passage from a South- 
ern port to Boston, 18 12. Ambrose Avery, aged 20, son of 
John, and David Elliot, lost on passage from Europe. Francis 
Pascall, aged 30, 1813, a native of Genoa ; he came when a 
boy to Truro with Captain J. Gross ; was noted for his gentle 
manners and good breeding ; had he been the son of an Ital- 
ian nobleman could not have been more polished ; married 
Sarah Dyer Rich ; was the father of Joshua R., Francis Pascall 
and Mrs Shaw. 

Zaccheus Rich, aged 32, washed overboard from a five- 
handed boat, crossing from Truro to Sandwich, 18 16. Ben- 
jamin Lombard, aged 20, d. in hospital at New Orleans, 1816. 
Captain Joseph Chandler, aged 45, d. at Charlotte, S. C. 
George Morris, aged 21, d. at N. C. John Thomas, aged 45, 



496 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

fell between the vessel and wharf in Boston ; lived but a few 
hours ; left a wife and eight children ; 1 8 1 6. Jeremiah Knowles, 
aged 1 8, and Daniel Dyer, d. on the Grand Bank with the 
prevailing fever, May 25, 181 6. That these two young men, 
nearly a thousand miles away, should die of the same sickness, 
and nearly at the same time, when most fatal at home, seems 
a remarkable fact in connection with the great sickness to 
which this refers. Edmund Cook, of sch. Welcome Return, 
Josiah Cook, master, of Provincetown, lost with all hands in 
the fall of 1816 ; most of her crew belonged in the Pond Vil- 
lage. Elisha Pike, aged 24, lost on his passage from France, 
1818. Jesse Rich, aged 25, d. at the West Indies. 

Andrew Collins Cobb, d. at St. Peters, Gaudaloupe, 18 16. 
Solomon Hopkins Jr., aged 20, lost overboard on passage from 
Liverpool. Captain Isaac Paine, and brothers-in-law Reuben 
Chapman and Dean Snow, 1816. Benjamin Lewis, aged 18, 
d. at Havana, 1816. Henry Johnson, aged 36, d. at Port au 
Prince, 18 14. Benjamin Coan, aged 22, drowned at the Back 
Side, 18 1 5. Also, " Benjamin Coan, aged 24, lost ®n his pas- 
sage from a fishing voyage, 181 8." Edmond Dana, Clark 
Cook, John Trabow and James Hopkins (evidently belonging 
to the same vessel), supposed to be lost on passage to Grand 
Bank, 18 18. Captain Thomas Lombard, aged 33, was run 
down on the Banks in the fall of 1819, his second fare ; only a 
part of the crew were lost. Jesse Knowles, officer, aged 20, 
lost on passage to Liverpool, 181 5. Ephraim Knowles, aged 
24, d. at Matanzas, 1818. Daniel E., aged 11, son of Free- 
man Lombard, lost on the Grand Bank, 18 18. James Lom- 
bard, officer, aged 26, d. at New Orleans, 18 19, a brother of 
Captain David. Nathaniel Harding, aged 22, d. on passage 
from Greenock, England, 1820. Sylvanus Nye, aged 41, 
drowned near Wood End, 1820. Benjamin Collins, aged 

24, d. in Havana, 1821. Joseph Atkins, aged 24, d. at Liv- 
erpool, 182 1. "A man of amiable disposition." Captain Joshua 
Paine, aged 29, d. at Havana, 1821. Josiah D. Atkins, aged 

25, washed overboard, near Race 'Point, 1825. Lawrence 
Auford, aged 29, lost back of Cape Cod, 1821, is Mr. Damon's 
record ; I have another notice, d. at New Orleans. Ephraim 



SHIPWRECK. 



497 



Snow d. at Matanzas, 1822. John Gross Lombard, aged 18, 
d. at Havana, 1821. John Thomas, aged 25, 1825. Captain 
John Knowles d. at New Orleans, 1820. Josiah Damon 
Atkins, aged 25, lost near Race Point, 1825. "A remarkably- 
steady and likely man." Jedediah Payne Dyer, aged 35, 
drowned near Wood End, 1826. Jesse Hill, d. by falling from 
aloft to the deck, 1827. Noah Rich, aged 25, d. at Charleston, 
S. C, 1824. 

The year 1825 was remarkable in the annals of New Eng- 
land for a succession of severe storms and many sad losses. 
Captain Reuben Snow, aged 42, Thomas Hopkins, first officer, 
aged 37, and William Gallagar, aged 22, in the brig Onslow 
from Boston to Laguire, were lost March 1825, probably the 
second day out. In April the schooner Joseph was lost on her 
passage to Grand Bank. Was last spoken by Richard Paine 
in the Little Martha, near Sable Island. Her crew were 
Ephraim Atkins, aged 47, master ; Joseph Lewis, aged 25 ; 
David Doble, aged 25 ; Parker Lombard, aged 19 ; Joseph 
Small; Francis Churchill, aged 16, and Joseph Smith, aged 14. 

In June the schooner Hornet, on a mackerel voyage, found- 
ered in a gale near Long Island, with all her crew. Leonard 
Snow, master, aged 31 ; John Snow, aged 17 ; Henry Snow, 
aged 19; Moses Collins, aged 18; Jonathan Collins; Jon- 
athan C. Lee, aged 16 ; John S. Molenay. They were nearly 
all relatives and from the same neighborhood. It was stated 
in the journals of the day that nearly six hundred men from 
the fishing towns of New England were lost in 1825. A ves- 
sel from Charleston, S. C, with thirty or more estimable 
young men belonging on the Cape, who had been employed 
during the winter in the South, was lost with all on board. 

April, 1828, Schooner Dart sailed for the Grand Bank ; was 
never heard from. Her crew were Thomas Sellew, master, 
aged 28, John Hughes, aged 23, Atkins Hughes, aged 32, 
John H. Sellew, aged 23, John Avery, Frank Gowen, John 
Curracio ; all belonging to the Pond Village. Captain John 
Stevens, aged 38, was thrown overboard with the deckload in 
a gale Aug. 24, 1830, on his passage from Boston to the West 
Indies. Captain Joseph Chandler, aged 28, in schooner Thea- 



498 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

/;r,was lost with all hands on his passage from North Carolina 
to Boston, February, 1829. 1828, Caleb Upham Grozier, in 
command of a brig, was murdered by pirates with all his crew, 
second mate only escaping. 

March 30, 1830, Captain Elisha Cobb, aged 35, d. at Mar- 
seilles. About 1875, Captain James Rich of Truro visited his 
grave, the first friend, or perhaps countryman, that had ever 
stood over his dust. I wish he had then planted a tree. 

November 1, 1831, Reuben Dyer, aged 31, skipper of the 
pinkey Emily, and his brother-in-law, Elisha Mayo, were lost 
by collision with the ship Russell, of Boston. Joshua Knowles 
was a boy on board. The two lost men made the fatal mistake 
of jumping for the ship, supposing she would crush them like 
an eggshell. Heltzell Freeman of Provincetown, also jumped, 
but held on to the chain-plates. So desperate was his grasp, 
that the blood oozed from his finger-nails when rescued. He 
was the same night transferred on board a fisherman. The 
pinkey was only slightly injured. Captain Dyer was the 
father of Elisha M. Dyer of Provincetown. John McTiers 
married Achsah Lombard, lost ; I have no particulars. 

December 16, 1832, Captain Michael Hopkins Jr., aged 28, 
lost overboard from brig Henry Clay on his passage from Rus- 
sia to Boston. 

November 18, 1833, Nathaniel Rich Jr., aged 21, Lyman 
Rich, aged 20, George W. Rich, aged 19, part of the crew of 
schooner Joy, were drowned between the vessel and shore at 
South Truro by the swamping of the skiff. They were all 
promising young men, and were returning home to spend the 
winter. Inscription on the gravestone of Nathaniel Rich Jr. : 

Youth full of health and at its ease, 
Looks for a day it never sees. 

October 2, 1833, Elisha Paine Jr., aged 32. The letter ot 
Captain Benjamin Rich to the widow of Mr. Paine, in the 
twenty-second chapter, tells this sad story. He had just 
come into his house from a fishing trip, when the alarm that 
a ship was in the breakers, was made ; and he went to duty 
and an early grave. John Grozier and Thomas F. Small, men- 



SHIPWRECK. 



499 



tioned in the letter, saved their lives when the boat was cap- 
sized ; one by clinging to the boat, the other by swimming 
ashore, but they both proved their heroism by staking their 
lives to save their fellowmen. This was many years before 
the present efficient system of the Life Saving Service as 
now conducted, and when all service was voluntary. 

Mrs. Rebecca, the widow of Mr. Paine, was an intelligent 




SWIMMING ASHURE. 



and energetic woman of the Avery, and Parker Lombard 
families. She gave me much encouragement and information 
in the beginning of my work. Nobly and faithfully she dis- 
charged her duty to her children, who preceded her to the bet- 
ter land, and, like a true warrior, laid her armor down at the 
last command. 

Died in Canton, China, December 19, 1833, Isaiah Lom- 
bard, aged 23. He had just entered upon business engage- 



5oo TRURO — CAPE COD. 

ments. The news of his death was received with general 
sorrow. November 22, 1834, lost overboard from packet Post- 
boy on passage from Boston to Truro, Daniel Rich, aged 37. 
January 3, 1834, washed overboard from schooner William, 
near the Capes of Virginia, Richard S. Lombard, aged 23. 
Caleb K. Childs, aged about 25, never heard from. Sun- 
day, December 6, 1835, at Pond Hollow, in sight of their 
own homes, Captain Obadiah Rich, aged 37 ; Snow Rich, 
aged 34; Joseph S. Paine, aged 35, Freeman A. Snow, aged 
27, and Andrew Jackson, aged 23, This sorrowful event and 
the funeral of the five men that followed, was a great shock to 
the community, from which they did not soon recover ; the 
four stricken wives never, the last of whom, Mrs. Paine, d. 
lately in Charlestown, and buried beside her husband after a 
widowhood of 48 years. Captain Rich was a man of recog- 
nized energy and business instinct, etc. ; was master of the 
Bianca, a fine vessel for the times, in which he had been very 
successful ; was returning from Provincetown, where he had 
been to put their fish on board for Boston. It was a bitter 
cold day, a high wind from the northwest and heavy sea. 
They were advised not to leave till more moderate, but knew 
no danger. The boat capsized on the bar, and the anchor 
caught, or perhaps they would all have clung to the boat and 
been saved, as they were all immediately washed ashore. 
Albert Robbins, the local poet, touched his melancholy lyre 
on this occasion. Poor fellow ! like Mozart, it was almost 
writing his own requiem, for a little later we have his fate to 
record. I will here introduce a verse from his " Loss of 
the Bianca's Crew," not so much on account of the poetical 
merit, as in memoriam. 

They started at the hour of ten, 
They started like five gallant men ; 
While thoughts of home their hearts did fill, 
They little thought of coming ill. 

In the fall of 1836, James Needham, aged 25, master of 
schooner Coral Rock ; Caleb Hopkins, aged 31 ; Nathaniel 
Paine, aged 28 ; Babstock, and perhaps others, were lost 



SHIPWRECK. 501 

on their homeward passage from the Grand Banks. They 
were spoken on the Banks with a full cargo. The Coral Rock 
was a large, first-class vessel, and Captain Needham and his 
crew valued citizens. 

August 3, 1836, Ebenezer Paine, aged 37 ; James Russell, 
aged 22, and Jonathan Paine, aged 19, part of the crew of 
schooner Turk, were towed under in a skiff-boat, by a large 
blackfish on Georges, and perished in sight of their vessel 
and crew, who could not help them, it being calm. The skip- 
per was Elkanah Paine; the lost were his relatives and neigh- 
bors ; he not only had to leave them behind, but meet their 
families with the painful news. 

In the winter of 1838, Captain Ephraim Doane Rich Jr., 
aged 29, was lost with his crew in the Bay of Mexico. 

Lewis Smith, aged 22, d. at the West Indies about 1840. 
Alvin Collins, aged 19, was washed from the jib-boom of 
brig Chief, March 17, 1835, from Boston to Charleston, S. C. 

In August, 1839, Captain Shubael A. Thomas, aged 30, of 
the schooner Comet, and his crew, were murdered by the 
Indians at Cape Carnival, Florida. He was wrecked by 
striking a hidden reef near the Cape. Captain Thomas had 
previously been captain or pilot on the East Boston Ferry. 
Theodore Lyman, a younger brother, was lost overboard from 
brig Kremlin on the coast of Africa. 

December 27, 1839, the little schooner Senator was lost on 
the Jersey coast. Her crew were Captain Bernard French, 
aged 26 ; Albert Robbins, aged 21 ; Frank De Acenaro, aged 
19. They were engaged in trading on the coast. Captain 
French and De Acenaro were brothers, natives of Havre, 
France. They left home with thousands of the flower of the 
French youth of that time, to avoid conscription. They had 
lived many years in Truro, and attended the district school. 
Bernard was an intelligent fellow, had become a citizen, adopt- 
ing the name of French. Albert Robbins was a young man 
of considerable originality, and some innocent eccentricities — 
the gifted Hopkins of the neighborhood. I have referred to 
his poetry. His compositions were mostly elegiac — pen- 
tameter verse. Though several years my senior, I grew up 



502 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

by his side, and can say to his memory as Mrs. Browning 
said over the grave of Cowper : — 

With quiet sadness and no gloom, 

I learn to think upon him ; 
With meekness that is gratefulness, 

To God whose heaven hath won him. 

Edward Pendergrace, aged 40, left his vessel at Norfolk, 
February, 1840, and took passage for Boston in the schooner 
America ; Captain Samuel Cook Jr., of Provincetown ; were 
never heard from. Henry Johnson, aged 36, d. at Port au 
Prince, February 14, 1841 ; Thomas Kenna, aged 20, March 
5. 1841. 

The most appalling calamity that ever befel Truro, over- 
shadowing all others, was the losses by the October gale of 
1 841. The monument that commemorates that event has 
often been referred to by travellers and writers. It is a plain 
marble shaft on a brownstone base. A good representation 
is here presented. It bears the following inscriprion. The 
first side : — 

Sacred 

To the memory of 

Fifty-seven citizens of truro 

who were lost in seven 

vessels, which 

foundered at sea in 

the memorable gale 

of October 3, 1841. 

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to 
God who gave it. 

Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. 

The names, with ages in single columns, cover the other 
sides. Regarding a list of these lost vessels, with their 
respective crews, as an historical acquisition, and as perhaps 
gratifying to the friends of the long-lost, we have, after the 
lapse of forty-one years, been able by much labor and the 
valued assistance of Mr. Joshua Dyer, to place every name 
correctly. 



SHIPWRECK. 503 

LIST OF TRURO VESSELS LOST WITH THEIR CREWS IN THE 
GALE OF OCTOBER 3, 1S41. 

Dalmatia. — Daniel Snow, master, aged 27 ; Isaac S. Paine, aged 30; Gama- 
liel S. Paine, aged 41 ; Henry Paine, aged 14, son of the last; Barnabas Cook, 
aged 50; Isaiah Snow, aged 22; David C. Snow, aged 21 ; William J. Smith, 
aged 23; Benjamin F. Bridgman, aged 14; Nayor Hatch Jr., aged 20. 

Cincinnatus. — John Wheeler, master, aged 28; Alfred Mayo, aged 27; Eze- 
kiel Atwood, aged 39 ; Henry Brackett, aged 22; John Cordes, aged 22; An- 
drew W. Cordes, aged 12 ; Stephen Rider, aged 21 ; Nehemiah H. Paine, aged 
25; Benjamin Rich, aged 29; Joseph Wheat, aged 13. 

Pomona. — .Solomon H. Dyer, master, aged 23; Jeremiah Hopkins, aged 24 ; 
John Doyle, aged 17; William R. Atwood, aged 17 ; Reuben Snow, aged 14; 
Francis P. Inzerilla, aged 18 ; Edward Ryan, aged 20. 

Altair. — Elisha Rich, master, aged 26; Joseph Rich Jr., aged 24; William S. 
Rich, aged 22 — the last three were brothers ; David Knowles, aged 28 ; Jesse 
Rich, aged 18 ; Ephraim Snow Jr., aged 18, 

Prince Albert. — Noah Smith, master, aged 29; Israel Paine, aged 27; George 
£. Anderson, aged 30; Atkins Paine, aged 32; Samuel King, aged 24; James 
R. Smith, aged 17; John Ryan, aged 17 ; Henry Bradley, aged 14. 

General Harrisoi. — Reuben Snow, master, aged 29; Joshua Snow, aged 35; 
Richard Cobb, aged 34; Zoheth Rich, aged 25; Samuel Russell, aged 33; John 
W. Peterson, aged 17. She carried a large crew ; the remainder belonged out 
of town. 

Arrival. — Freeman Atkins Jr., master, aged 28; Richard H. Paine, aged 30; 
Joshua G. White, aged 23 ; Cuilen A. Rider, aged 19; Thomas Cotter, aged 19; 
Richard F. Atwood, aged 14; Moses C. Snow, aged 16; Charles W. B. Nott, 
aged 11 ; Thomas C. White, aged 12. 

Elisha Paine, aged 39, was washed overboard from schooner 
Reform. Some of the additional names not belonging in 
Truro were Decatur Phillips, Luther Hain, William Gill or 
McGill, and Hugh McLane. Gamaliel S. Paine, being left at 
home, walked to Provincetown the Sunday before the gale, 
went out in another vessel, was transferred to his own, while 
another man who belonged on the same vessel refused to take 
the walk, and is now alive. 

Barnabas Paine, town clerk, very properly spread upon the 



5°4 



TRURO — CAPE COD. 



records an account of the deplorable loss of life and property, 

and such particulars of the storm as he was able to gather 

from various sources. My 
first intention was to copy 
this valuable record, but 
fortunately, have since been 
furnished an accurate ac- 
count of the personal expe- 
rience of Joshua Knowles, 
of Truro, master of the 
Garnet, and Matthias Rich, 
now of Boston, of the 
Water Witch, which I am 
glad to hand down through 
the pages of this history. 

It may add interest to 
these narratives and to the 
vivid impressions such ex- 
periences make on the 

mind, that they were made without preparation more than 

forty years after the events described. 




MONUMENT IN MEMORY OK THE OCTOBER 
GALE IN 1841. 



THE ACCOUNT OF JOSHUA KNOWLES. 

We left Provincetovvn Saturday, second ; at sunset were off Head of Pamet, 
one league east. Soon after spoke the Vesper of Dennis, direct from Georges, 
bound home ; reported good fishing. For Georges we shaped our course, set- 
ting all sail. Wind light from the northeast, but soon began to breeze. At ten, 
took in light sails. At twelve, took in mainsail, the wind now blowing a gale. 
At four Sunday morning took in the jib, had thirty-four fathoms of water. 
Judged myself on the southwest part of Georges. At six, double-reefed. the fore- 
sail, which soon after parted the leachrope and tore to the luff. We crossbarred 
the sail, and put on a preventer leachrope quick as possible, and set it close- 
reefed. The gale increased every moment. At ten, a heavy sea took the boat 
and davits. By sounding found we were fast drifting across South Channel, and 
knew the shoals were under our lee. Determined to carry sail as "long as it 
would stand, to clear the shoals, if possible. To the close-reefed foresail, set a 
balanced-reefed mainsail and reefed jib, and, blowing as it was, she earned it off 
in good shape ; and had our sails stood, I have little doubt we should have car- 
ried out clear. 

The foresail again gave out, was repaired and set ; as soon as up, it blew to 
ribbons. Mainsail soon shared the same fate. We had only the jib left. It 
tf&s now about eight o'clock Sunday evening. We could do no more. Sounded 



SHIPWRECK. 505 

in fifteen fathoms of water and knew we were rapidly drifting into shoal water 
The next throw of the lead "was six fathoms. As the sea was breaking over fore 
and aft, advised all to go below but brother Zack. We concluded to swing her 
off before the wind, and if by any possibility we were nearing land, should have 
a better chance. Put up the helm. Just as she began to fall off, a tremendous 
sea or a breaker completely buried the vessel, leaving her on her broadside, or 
beam ends. Brother Zack was washed overboard, but caught the mainsheet 
and hauled himself on board. The foremast was broken about fifteen feet above 
deck, the strain on the spring-stay hauled the mainmast out of the step, and tore 
up the deck, swept away the galley, bulwarks, and everything clean, and shifted 
the ballast into the wing. I thought at once of a sharp hatchet that was always 
kept under my berth, which was soon found. A lanyard was fastened to the 
hatchet and a rope to brother Zack, who went to the leeward, and when she 
rolled out of water, he watched his chance and cut away the rigging. I did the 
same forward, cut the jibstay and other ropes, so we got clear of spars, sails and 
rigging, sheet anchor and chains. The men got into the hold through the laza- 
ret, and threw ballast to the windward, so that she partially righted. We were 
now a helpless wreck. I had noticed that immediately after the great breaker 
the sea was more regular. With a few of the waist-boards left, and spare old 
canvas, we battened the hole in the deck, and with the remaining anchor out 
for a drag, we made a pretty good drift considering the circumstances, though 
mostly under water. It was now nearly daylight, and the gale unabated. As 
soon as fairly day, I saw by the color of the water that we were off soundings, 
and had a fair drift. Duiing the afternoon the wind moderated considerably. 
Tuesday morning, the v fifth, wind was more moderate. Saw a schooner under 
reefs standing by the wind to the northwest; made every effort to attract their 
attention, but as we lay so low on the water she did not notice us, and soon 
passed out of sight. 

We put a stay on the stump of the foremast, set the staysail for a foresail, and 
the gaff-topsail for a jib, so we could steer. At ten A. M., weather was fine. We 
opened the hatches, found some potatoes floating in the hold — fortunately the 
teakettle was in the cabin when the galley went overboard. The boys built a 
fire on the ballast and boiled potatoes, the first mouthful of food since Sunday 
morning, the third. Just before sunset discovered a sail approaching from the 
east. Our flag on a long pole served as a signal and we used every effort to get 
in her track lest we should not be discovered. We were soon satisfied she was 
steering for us, and that there was great interest in our behalf, as the yards and 
rigging were full of men on the watch. 

As soon as within hailing distance, the Captain inquired what assistance he 
could give. I had before determined to abandon my vessel, and so replied. A 
quarter boat was soon alongside ; the crew and luggage were mostly taken in the 
first boat ; during her absence, with the same hatchet that had done such good 
work, I let in the blue water and stepped on the boat, leaving the Garnet which 
had been my home for several years, to find the bottom. Never was rescue more 
fortunate. I found myself and crew of ten men on board the New York and 
Liverpool packet ship Roscius, the first merchant ship of her day, commanded by 
John Collins, a Truro boy, and formerly my nearest neighbor, and a connection 
by marriage. One of the officers was Joshua Caleb Paine, a Truro young man, 
nephew of Captain Collins. I need not say we received every attention and 



506 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

were regarded by the passengers, of whom there were four hundred in steeiage 
and cabin, with much interest. We were two hundred miles from the highlands 
of Neversink, which we sighted the next day, landing at New York on the 
seventh, receiving the most generous offers and kindest attention, and in good 
time all arrived safely at our homes. 

THE ACCOUNT OF MATTHIAS RICH. 

Saturday, Oct. 2d., preceding the gale, the wind was N. E., about half a 
wholesale breeze. We did not get up with the fleet till after sunset, caught 
about half a dozen wash-barrels of mackerel, all large and fat. By calculation I 
was 90 miles S. E. by E. from the Highlands of Cape Cod. We lay to under 
foresail to the E. carrying jib all night. All the other vessels lay to the N. W. 
under foresail only. At 4 o'clock Sunday morning I was called, weather bad, 
a smart wholesale breeze N. E. Wore ship and started for the Cape, which I 
then calculated distant 1 20 miles N. W. by W. At five o'clock put on whole sail 
and steered N. W. by W. On account of heavy sea, was sometimes obliged to 
swing off the course. Sun rose clear, but looked wild and immediately went 
into black clouds, showing two sun-dogs. Between 7 and 8 passed the fleet still 
lying very comfortably to the N. W. under foresail, two or three with bob jib. 
We passed so near the Dalmatia and Gen. Harrison of Truro, could have spoken 
them. We thought they had each twenty or thirty barrels of mackerel salted 
on deck. About 10:30 25 miles N. W. of the fleet we passed the Pomona, 
Captain Sol. Dyer, laying under double reefed foresail. Seeing us running in 
for the land, they immediately kept off and followed. I saw a man go out on 
the bowsprit and loose a part of the jib, which they hoisted. Jeremiah Hopkins 
was an expert at vessel-telling and knew us doubtless at once. About 1 1 o'clock 
my crew urged to tack ship. I said it was too late and that we must now make 
a harbor or run ashore, as I clearly saw there was no chance for us to fall to the 
leeward. I had made up my mind if we could not weather the Highlands to run 
on where the shore was bold and take our chances for beingsaved. At 11.30 
came up with another vessel laying W. She also kept off, both vessels keeping 
in sight till 12.30. Then judged myself nearly up to the land and was about to 
make some observations, when a squall struck, driving the sea completely over 
our vessel. Hauled down the jib and mainsail, and lay under double-reefed 
foresail, both other vessels doing the same. When we came up to the wind, Cap- 
tain Dyer was just off our weather bow, and the other vessel nearly in our 
wake. I had noticed as we approached the land the wind farther N. At 1 
o'clock the force of the squall passed by, at same time clearing slightly to lee- 
ward. I was then standing in the gang-way, all the crew below, as could not 
remain on deck ; when I saw land under our lee and well along to the windward 
— our desperate condition was at the first moment a terrible shock, but quickly 
recovering, I sprang on deck, called up my crew, ordered the jib set. Under the 
first pressure of the jib, she fell off so far that the land was windward of the 
bowsprit. I knew we had a good sea-boat ; I had tried her in a hard scratch, and 
knew our race was life or death. The mainsail had been balanced reefed before 
laying to; this I ordered hoisted; the sail was small, but before half-way up, our 
vessel lay so much on her broadside, that the halliards were lost, the sail came 



SHIPWRECK. 507 

down by the run, and blew to pieces, the main boom and gaff going over the lee 
rail. We first tried to cut them away, but fearing the main top-in-liff would 
carry away the mainmast, got on a tackle and pulled the boom and part of the 
mainsail out of the water. Then righted and came up to the wind, making good 
headway and gaining to the windward under the only sail we could bear; double 
reefed foresail and reefed jib, the sea making a breach fore and aft. Soon as 
this slight hope dawned, I looked around for our neighbors, but not to be seen. 
I questioned each of the crew, but all like myself had been so engaged and 
absorbed with our own danger had not thought of them. The Pomona was 
much smaller and less able than our boat, and I have good reason to believe she 
was disabled in the squall. She was found bottom up in Nauset Harbor, with 
the boys drowned in her cabin. Her boat and some other articles were picked 
up between 3 and 4, only about two hours after we lost sight of her. The other 
vessel was probably the Bride of Dennis, which shared the same fate as the 
Pomona. 

We hung on sharp as possible by the wind, our little craft proving herself not 
only able but seemingly endowed with life. In this way at 3.30 we weathered the 
Highlands with no room to spare. When off Peaked Hill Bars the jib blew 
away, and we just cleared the breakers ; but we had weathered ! the lee shore was 
astern, and Race Point under our lee, which we rounded and let go our anchor in 
the Herring Cove at 6.30 — just at dark. I left the helm, where I had been lashed 
since 6.30 in the morning, except during the half-hour or so, while we were lying 
to. 

The gale was probably at its height about 2 o'clock Monday morning, as sev- 
eral lights from vessels anchored near us, then disappeared, going adrift. When 
morning dawned ours was the only vessel in the Cove. 

OTHER NOTES OF THE GALE. 

The fate of the Pomona, the only vessel of the lost ever 
heard from, has been referred to. John Doyle, Reuben Snow 
2d, Richard F. Atwood, were the boys found in her cabin, all 
of whom were brought home for burial. The Cincinnatus 
was a large able vessel, the only one lost not on Georges. 
She was fishing in the hook of the Isle of Sable. 

A few years ago an English paper of Hull speaks of " The 
most remarkable case ever recorded in connection with ship- 
ping of this or any other port, that occurred on the Dogger 
which seems increditable, of a vessel turning completely 
over," etc. 

The Reform, Isaac S. Lewis, master, accomplished this in- 
creditable feat in the October gale of 1841. They were lay- 
ing under bare poles, with a drag-out to keep head to the 
wind. As it was impossible to remain on deck on account of 



S o8 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

the sea making a breach fore and aft, all hands fastened them- 
selves in the cabin and awaited their fate, at the mercy of the 
storm. During this time Elisha Paine Jr. ventured on deck. 
A moment after a terrific sea fairly swallowed them many 
fathoms below the surface. The vessel was thrown com- 
pletely bottom up, as the men were huddled together, with 
everything movable, on the carlines, the water bursting into 
the cabin. The crew had no doubt it was her final plunge. 
A few seconds only, she was again on her keel. Two or three 
men crawled on deck ; they found the masts gone and the 
hawser of the drag wound around the bowsprit. She had 
turned completely over, and came up on the opposite side. 
Mr. Paine was never again heard from. 

The incidents" connected with this disaster, the far-reaching 
and heart-rending recitals, would fill a volume. The anxious 
waiting and painful giving up, are illustrated by the following 
from the Provincetown Advocate of April, 1877, referring to 
to this event ; — 

We saw a father, who had two sons among the missing, for days and 
weeks, go morning and evening to the hill-top which overlooked the ocean, 
and there seating himself, would watch for hours, scanning the distant horizon 
with his glass, hoping every moment to discover some speck on which to build 
a hope. 

This was indeed a forlorn hope, as there was not one 
chance in a million ; but love clings to a phantom, and finds 
consolation thereby. As soon as possible, a vessel was sent 
out, and for weeks cruised wherever a disabled vessel might 
be found, or some clew to the lost discovered ; but not a speck 
was found, nor the shadow of a trace ever made. If they 
had gone upon any of the shoals between the Cape and 
Vineyard, reasonably some fragments, sufficient for identifica- 
tion could have been found. However or wherever they went 
down, it is thought that it was all over with them not much 
later than 12 o'clock Sunday night. The monument referred 
to was erected through the efforts of Mr. J. H. Davis and the 
late Captain Atkins Dyer. It was dedicated about July, 1842, 
by appropriate services, and an oration by Mr. Davis, 



SHIPWRECK. 509 

LOSS OF THE COMMERCE'S CREW. 

Early Sunday morning, September 15, 1844, occurred a 
disaster that in mystery and agonizing detail paralyzed the 
community. The lost were Solomon H. Lombard, master, 
aged 30; James H. Lombard, a brother, aged 25; Reuben 
Pierce, aged 39 ; Solomon P. Rich, aged 36 ; son Charles 
Wesley Rich, aged 12; Elisha Rich, aged 16; John L. Rich, 
aged 13; Thomas Mayo, aged 23; Ezra Turner, aged 20; 
Sewell Worcester, of Wellfleet, aged about 30. Captain 
Lombard was a young man of excellent character and much 
promise. He had for several years followed banking and coast- 
ing in the Commerce with good success. At the time of the 
disaster was mackereling. His crew were mostly neigh- 
bors, and with himself, were members of the M. E. Church 
in South Truro, towards which they were prominent sup- 
porters. Sunday, September 15, was noticeably a beautiful 
day. The first charming touches of early autumn brightened 
the landscape. The valleys lay in soft sunshine ; the brown 
hills were lovely in repose, and the blue waters of the Bay 
rested in quiet splendor. Such a day-picture Herbert must 
have realized when he wrote : — 

Sweet day, so pure, so calm, so bright, 
The bridal of the earth and sky. 

The Commerce was well-known along the shore, and Mon- 
day morning, when the boats went out of the harbor, they 
saw her lying at anchor in the roadstead off Truro shore, as 
is customary in fine weather. They supposed she had come 
in during the night, and as there was no boat, that the crew 
had gone home. Later in the morning, and the boat not 
being seen, and none of the crew moving, one of the neighbors 
went to Captain Lombard's house ; his wife said her husband 
had not been at home, and no news from them since they 
went away. 

The vessel was then boarded. She was found carefully 
secured, but no sign of life. The crew had evidently left in 
the boat. It soon transpired that the Commerce had been 



Sio TRURO — CAPE COD. 

seen by several persons during Sunday ; but lying abreast a 
high hill near the Captain's house, she had not been ob- 
served by the friends. General search was made, and near 
noon the boat was found ashore some mile or more south, 
with a plank started from her bilge. More than this was 
never known ; all else was conjecture. How a crew of ten active 
men, many, if not all, expert swimmers, could all be drowned 
in smooth water, so near the shore, probably having the usual 
compliment of oars, thwarts, etc. — how the leak occurred, 
and why it could not have been stopped, with many other 
queries, will ever remain a mystery. With Captain Lombard 
was found his watch, stopped at four-thirty, showing the time 
of the accident. From time to time during three weeks, 
from Barnstable to Beach Point, a distance of thirty miles, all 
were found, received the sacred rites of home burial, with 
solemn services, and were committed dust to dust. 

Upon the breezy headland, the fishermen's graves they made ; 
Where, over the daisies and clover bells, the oaken branches swayed ; 
Above them the birds were singing in the cloudless skies of fall, 
And under the bank the billows were chanting their ceaseless call; 
For the foaming line was curving along the hollow shore, 
Where the same old waves were breaking, that they would ride no more. 

The possible casualties of a sea-going neighborhood or 
community, can be no better told than by the history of a 
single family, which we here present. Capt. Shubael Snow, 
a retired master-mariner for many years, was found drowned 
from his boat in Pamet Harbor, July 3, 1844, aged 68. His 
sons were : 

Anthony Snow, officer of ship Swiftsure, died at sea, Dec- 
ember 28, 1828, aged 25. 

Jonathan Snow died at home, August 21, 1825, aged 28. 

Shubael Snow, officer of ship Gold Hunter, died at sea, 
1829, aged 23. 

Isaac Snow died in New Orleans, 1835, aged 28. 

Isaiah Snow lost in October gale, 1841, aged 22. 

Reuben Snow, one of the boys found in the cabin of the 
schooner Pomona, lost in October gale, 1841, aged 14. 

Edwin Snow, washed overboard, March 1, 1843, aged 19. 



SHIPWRECK. 511 

Shubael A. Snow served three years in 24th Mass. Reg. 
Vol. ; contracted disease from which he died 1876, aged 43. 

Ephraim Snow, the only surviving brother, having escaped 
the dangers of flood and field, is spending the evening of his 
days at the old home, the scene of so much life and death. 
^ It is significant of the change during the last generation, that 
of his seven sons, not one follows the sea, and only one 
remains at home. 

Josiah Knowles, aged 20, was washed overboard. Mar., 1844 

Samuel H. Paine, an officer, aged 24, sailed from Boston 
in the ship Eagle Wing, Feb. 4, 1864. Was never heard from. 

James Hughes Jr., aged 21, officer of bark Pauline, lost 
on the voyage from Matanzas to Gibraltar, Sept. 2, 1846. 
Son of James. 

The schooner Altorf sailed for the Banks in the spring of 
1845. Was never heard from. Supposed to have been lost 
the first day out in a white squall. Her crew in part were 
William S. Hutchins, master, aged 34 ; John Grozier, aged 
32 ; James Lombard Grozier, aged 27 ; John S. Rand, aged 
39; John Small, aged 19 ; Charles Hill, aged 18. 

Captain Michael Snow, aged 55, sailed from Turk's Island 
for Boston, November 8. 1846, in the bark Calcutta ; was 
never heard from ; supposed to have foundered in the gale of 
November 25th. Horace S. Merchant, of Barnstable, aged 
24, was first officer; Fessenden F. Martin of Danville, Me., 
was a passenger. Captain Snow was an active, enterprising 
and intelligent gentleman, and a prominent citizen. His sons 
are Michael and Isaac Snow, successful business men of New 
York. March 2, 1846, the new schooner Malvina A. was lost 
on her passage from Truro to Baltimore Captain Samuel 
Mayo, aged 26 ; John Doherty, officer, aged 28 ; perhaps 
others from Truro. The Malvina A. was among the first 
launched from the new shipyard ; was a large, staunch vessel 
on her second voyage. Her timbers were cut in Truro, and 
she had been an object of the fostering enterprise of the peo- 
ple. Her loss with two popular young men was another hard 
blow, but the sound of the axe and the ring of the anvil were 
still heard, and other vessels were launched, manned, and 



5 i2 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

sailed away. April 26, 1847, Captain Samuel Coan, aged 54 ; 
Andrew Cassidy, aged 16 ; Nathaniel Paine, aged 14 ; Daniel 
Pendegrace, aged 16 ; William Caty, aged 14 ; and John 
Ridley, aged 13, were drowned by the upsetting of a boat at 
the Pond Landing. Benjamin and Samuel, sons of the captain, 
were saved. Captain Coan was an old, successful skipper, 
and highly respected citizen. His vessel, the Brenda, was all 
fitted for the Banks at Provincetown ; he was coming home to 
spend a day or two before sailing, when he sailed to that un- 
explored shore. Died at Port au Prince, 1848, from schooner 
Abbott Deveraux, Isaiah Atkins Rich, officer, aged 21 ; Calvin 
Dean Rich, aged 20; sons of Captain Z. Rich. May 1 1, 1848, 
William Penn Rich, aged 18, son of Captain Matthias, was 
washed from the jib boom of schooner J. IV. Herbert, near 
Fire Island. He was a young man with a natural taste for 
mechanics and chemistry. Some of his experiments indicated 
talents of considerable ability, if not real genius. 

Paul Atkins Jr., aged 16, was lost from schooner Alabama, 
Oct. 16, 1849. Joshua Small Jr., aged 30, was lost overboard 
from the packet on her passage to Boston, March 19, 1850. 
Mr. S. was a carpenter and a schoolmaster ; a young man of 
much promise. Lewis Collins, aged 21, d. at sea, Sept. 8, 
1850. Capt. Isaac Aydelotte, aged 39, lost Sept. 8, 185 1. 
His son, Charles M., aged 10, June 15, 1849. Nathaniel R. 
Cobb, aged 15, Aug. 12, 1850, William Burton, of schr. 
Eagle, of Yarmouth, was lost on Truro shore, April 18, 185 1. 

Capt. John Kelly, aged about 29, of bark Griffin, supposed 
to be lost on the coast of Africa, about 1850. 

Feb'y 19, 185 1, the schr. Joshua H. Davis was lost on her 
passage from Norfolk to Boston. 

Capt. Harvey Small, aged 30; James Livermore, officer, 
aged 35 ; Michael A. Lombard, aged 20 ; John Babstock, 
aged 32 ; John Harper, aged 18. Capt. S. was one of the 
few men of real worth, that have many friends and no 
enemies. 

Oct. 5, 185 1, ten years almost to a day from the great gale 
of Oct. 3, 1 841, a storm occurred at the Bay of Chaleurs, 
which proved more disastrous to life and property than any 



SHIPWRECK. 513 

heretofore known on that perilous coast. The Truro fleet, 
then at its maximum, had for several years fished in English 
waters. Our vessels were having good fishing on the north 
side of P. E. Island. The gale came on in the night without 
warning. With varied experiences, all our vessels reached 
the harbors of Cascum Peck and Mall Peck, except the 
Elenor M. Shaw, of whom nothing was ever heard. Her 
crew were Thomas W. Shaw, master, aged 37 ; Joseph P. 
Wells, aged 36 ; Cornelius Shaw, aged 43 ; his son, Cornelius 
Jr., aged 16; Aaron W. Snow, aged 32 ; Michael A. Rich Jr., 
aged 2 1 ; Timothy Cassidy, aged 18 ; John Bensiah, aged 24; 
John Mcquade, aged 18 ; John Brine, aged 17 ; William 
Clark of Canada, aged 25 ; Josiah Young, of Orleans, aged 
28 ; a Portuguese aged about 20. Captain Shaw was an 
honor to his craft ; I should make no mistake to say an 
honor to his race. He was a small man, with a great heart 
and a sound head, that thought for himself, and dared to act 
up to his own standard of manliness. He was the only 
citizen of Truro that directly contributed to that charity 
sent by the U. S. sloop of war Jamestown, to the starving 
of Ireland. He left two daughters, now living in California. 

In the same gale, while gaining the harbor, there were lost 
from the schooner Nettle, Jeremiah Hopkins, master ; Samuel 
Paine Hopkins, aged 42 ; Thomas Smith Dyer, aged 22 ; 
Henry Sholes, aged 29. All these were sterling men and val- 
uable citizens. Most of them were married, with families, 
and well identified with the prosperity of the town. The 
funeral services were held in the Congregational church, Jan. 
25, 1852. 

April 20, 1852, Jonathan Collins, aged 45 ; Daniel Cassidy, 
aged 23, were drowned attempting to rescue the crew of the 
English bark JosepJia, wrecked near the Highland Light. 
Of eighteen, only two were saved. 

When the cry of " Ship ashore ! " was given, Mr. Collins sat 
at his supper table ; in half an hour he was numbered with 
the lost. On the beach David D. Smith had passed his watch 
to a neighbor, and was preparing to join the boat's crew, when 
the brave young Cassidy arrived, and, thrusting Smith aside, 



5*4 



TRURO— CAPE COD. 



because an older man, sprang into the boat. He had been 
married a few days only, and was the last of three brothers 
whose names have appeared within the last few pages. 

No more daring and self-sacrificing deeds were ever 
chronicled than hundreds of the volunteer services to save 
the lives of a brother sailor or perish in the attempt. 

September 6, 1854, Captain John Smith, aged 28, of sch. 
Virginia, was lost on his home passage from whaling in the 




South Atlantic. He was known as a fearless and energetic 
whaleman, and though a young man when cut off, had made 
several successful voyages as master. Vessel never heard 
from. Supposed to have been lost in the September gale or 
hurricane of that year. 

October 15, 1855, Reuben L. Bangs, aged 26, fell overboard 
in Port Hood. August 25, 1856, Amasa Paine Atwood, aged 



SHIPWRECK. 515 

17, was lost overboard. Amos Sellew of Boston, a native of 
Truro, was drowned near the Pond Landing, October 16, 1856, 
aged 41 years. Mr. Sellew was engaged landing from the 
packet on which he was a passenger, an iron fence for his 
cemetery lot, when the boat sank, carrying him down. 

Captain John C. Harding, of bark M. D. Stetson, died in 
Cienfuegos, Cuba, October 3, 1855, aged 40 years. The body 
was embalmed, and rests in the cemetery of his native town. 
Captain Harding died in the prime of life. He was well 
known in commercial circles as a gentleman of integrity, self- 
respect and warm sympathies. " Life's fitful fever over, they 
sleep well " Captain Daniel Warren Welch, of schr. John 
Smith, died in Aux Cayes, October 20, 1855, aged 31 
years. Thomas W. Sanderson, aged 24, officer, d. the 
same time. 

Captain Cornelius Sullivan, aged 40, of brig Anglo-Saxon, 
d. at Vineyard Haven, June 9, 1855, having been sick all the 
passage from South America. Captain Sullivan was a native 
of Ireland ; came to Truro when a boy, and was devoted to 
the home of his adoption. He was a true sailor, with the 
ready humor and playful fancy peculiar to his country. Under 
a rough exterior there was hidden a gentle nature. A kinder 
or more generous spirit never warmed a manly heart. 

Samuel P. Hopkins, aged 20, an officer of ship Santa Rosa, 
was lost overboard near Cape Horn, January 23, 1857. Wil- 
liam T. Rich, aged 19, d. at Norfolk, Va., March 27, 1858. 
John, aged 22, son of Paul Coan, was lost on the Banks, 1858. 
Jonah Atkins, aged 26, was lost overboard Mar. 19, 1854. 
Captain Elisha Paine, aged 35, of ship Waban, d. ai 
Calcutta, May, I858. Captain Paine was a capable and popu- 
lar man, and stood well in his profession, having won his way 
by real merit. 

November 29, 1859, tne fishing schooner Emerald foun- 
dered nine miles southeast from Chatham. Her crew were 
Lewis L. Paine, master, aged 37 ; Pllisha L., his son, aged 14 ; 
Captain Joshua Paine, a brother, aged 56 ; Richard F. Atkins, 
aged 20; James L. Dyer, aged 17 ; Stephen Hopkins, aged 
II, son of Atkins, a direct descendant of Stephen ot the May- 



5i6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

flower ; Joseph W. Knowles was the only one saved ; he 
floated on a hatch till picked up by a passing vessel. 

Phillip B. Elliott, aged 25, d. on the passage from West 
Indies August 7, 1859. 

March, 1861, schooner A. N. Jejfersoi was lost on her 
passage from Truro to Virginia. Her crew were Alden Free- 
man, master, aged 36; John Pike, officer, aged 44; Joshua 
H. Holsbury, aged 24; Joshua S. Rich, aged 19; William H. 
Russell, aged 19; John F. Carney, aged 17. Captain Freeman 
and Mr. Pike were valued citizens ; the young men were active 
and promising. Charles C. Knowles, aged 38, d. at sea, 
Feb. 22, 1863. 

Schooner Biou was lost on the coast, March 23, 1864. 
Joseph King, master, aged 34; Ambrose Atkins, officer, aged 
48 ; Ambrose A. Baker, aged 28 ; James Madison Small, 
aged 23 ; another not known. Captain King was an intelli- 
gent and accomplished man, modest and reserved in his inter- 
course with the world, faithful and honorable in all his rela- 
tions. His crew were all residents of the Pond Village. 

July 5, 1864, John Richard Lee, aged 24, officer of ship 
Rambler, in a gale off the Cape of Good Hope, fell from the 
topsail yard, striking the anchor, and was instantly killed. 
Upon the arrival of the ship at Falmouth, England, Captain 
Carlton notified the mother of Mr. Lee of the loss of her 
son, and spoke in the highest terms of the unfortunate young 
officer who had been in the same ship several voyages. 
David F., aged 12, son of Andrew Cobb, drowned October 
23, 1863. 

Captain George Kelley, aged about 35, of bark Ida, died 
on the Island of Hayti, 1865 ; he was in good business, and 
rapidly rising in his profession. Atkins Hughes Childs, aged 
32, lost from schooner Elvarado, on the Grand Bank, in the 
spring of 1867. September, 1867, schooner Etta S. Fogg was 
lost returning from a whaling voyage. Captain Alexander 
Thompson, aged 27 ; his wife, Mary Linnell, aged 25 ; his 
brother, Charles G. S. Thompson, officer, aged 25. Her 
fate was never known. Captain Joseph Smith Hopkins, aged 
38, of brig E. H. Rich, d. August 31, 1871, eleven days out 



SHIPWRECK '. 



5*7 



from London to New York ; was buried at sea ; son of Caleb 
Hopkins, lost with the Coral Rock. 

But his sleep in the heart of the ocean 

Is sweet — and all is well ; 
Though no funeral train attended, 

Nor tears at his burial fell, 
God brooded over his dying, 

And made him a royal tomb, 
Where the choiring stars in golden bars 

Rang anthems through the gloom. 

Captain Daniel A. Knowles, aged 29, Samuel H. Wharf, 
aged 27, William S. Hopkins, aged 2,-, and Aaron Gibson, 
were lost March 31, 1868, 
going or returning from 
Virginia in the oyster busi- 
ness ; September 3, 1870, 
schr. Annie C. Warner 
was lost on Georges, with 
all on board. Atkins Rich 
master, aged 44, his son 
Atkins, aged 12, Enoch H. 
Rich, aged 43, William H. 
Greenough, aged 51, Wil- 
liam Sparrow, aged 18, 
James Smith Mayo, aged 
18, son of Richard L., and ten others, names unknown. Cap- 
tain Wilhelm Kurtland, aged 36, of the Hamburg bark Francis, 
was lost on Truro shore, December 28, 1872. Captain Leon- 
ard S. Lombard, aged 48, d. at Mobile, March 17, 1875 ; Eben 
Wilbur Lombard, aged 31, a pilot, was lost near Plymouth in 
the winter of 1876 ; Stephen A. Hatch, aged 23, washed over- 
board off Oak Bluff, March 31, 1879; Captain Thomas Sellew 
Stevens, b. September 29, 1829, was several years master of 
ship Cowper of Boston, became a merchant in Yokohama. 
Fitted out a vessel for salmon catching to Northern Japan. 
Was capsized from a boat on a sand-bar, and drowned on his 
50th birthday, 1879; March 23, 1880, William- Emery Myrick, 
aged 17, was drowned from a dory in Cape Cod Bay. 




WRECK OF THE HAMT'.URG BARK FRANCIS. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
GENEALOGY. 

The last Chapter. Passing Generations. True Honor. Promises. Ancestry. System. 
Atkins. Atwood. Long Measure. Avery. Bangs. First Comers. Baker. " Hon- 
est Nicholas." Chapman. Collins. Cobb. Post Admiral. Cole. Cook. The first 
Bark. Davis. Dyer. The Doctor's Knack. Freeman. Race Characteristics. 
Gross. Judge Hinckes. Hinckley. The Governor and Poet. The good Deacon and 
Judge. Harding. Higgins. Hopkins. Knowles. Lombard. An ancient Race. 
Mayo. Mulford. Newcomb. Paine. Doomsday Book. Pike. Purington. Rich. 
Rider. Ridley. Savage. Small. Smith. Snow. Stevens. Treat. Vickery. 
Young. Coan. Lewis. 

WE have come at last to the final chapter of our his- 
tory. It has already overrun our prescribed limit. 
We have become familiar with the names on these pages : 
we have seen generation after generation come upon the stage, 
take their places and pass away, just as we shall soon do. If 
wise we can tell how little we shall be missed and how little 
the world will care for us in a practical sense when we are 
gone. But there is a sense in which the departed are held in 
honor and the best part of man is that which best honors his 
fathers. It expands with our religion and our enlightenment. 
We have now to fulfill our promise of giving to a greater or 
less extent a history of every known family of Truro. It would 
be a waste of words to indicate that in a work of this kind that 
could be otherwise understood than simply indicating the 
origin of the family name and its first representatives in our 
native land. As a rule, our ancestry were directly from Eng- 
land, and, as has been observed, the best of the English head 
and heart made up the settlers of the Old Colony. 

518 



GENEALOGY. 519 

When possible, we have shown the early branches of the 
family, but as will be seen, by the rapid increase of families, 
this could be followed to a moderate extent only except in a 
few cases. The work, however, of preparing this chapter is 
almost incredible. If ten times more complete than the 
present, we should still have abundant reason for saying 
unsatisfactory as applied to an exhaustive work ; but in this 
connection we trust we shall meet the expectation of our friends 
and those most interested. When possible, from our partial 
and irregular report, we have followed the system adopted by 
the N. E. Historic and Genealogical Society, now in practice. 

Atkins. — An old English name. I have learned nothing of 
its origin or history. Henry was in Plymouth before 1641 ; 
Eastham, not later than 1653 ; m. Elizabeth Wells, 1647, who 
d. 1 66 1 ; 2d., Bethiah Linnell, 1664. A large family; sons, 
Samuel, b. 165 1, killed Philip's War ; Nathaniel, b. 1667, m. 

Winifred , 1693 ; Bethiah and Winifred are to this 

day in the Truro family, the last sometimes spelt Winnet. 

The children of Nathaniel and Winifred were Nathaniel, b. 1694, ra. Mary 

: Henry, b. 1696; Bethiah, b. 1698; Joshua, b. 1702, m. Rebecca Atwood, 

^722 ; Isaiah, b. 1704, m. Hannah Cook; Elizabeth, b. 1704. 

Children of Joshua and Rebecca Atwood, m. 1722. Isaiah, b. 1723, m. Ruth 
Hinckley, 1746; Joshua, b. 1725, m. Martha Harding, 1743; Joseph, b. 1727; 
Deliverance (or Dilla), b. 1729; Rebecca, b. 1733; Bethiah, b. 1736; Jane, b. 
^738; Elizabeth, b. 1740; Paul, b. 1742; Mary, b. 1745; Samuel, b. 1748, m. 
Ruth Lombard. 

Children of Isaiah and Hannah Cook, m. 1724. Benjamin, b. 1726; Hannah, 
V). 1728; John, b. 1730, lost at sea 1754; Silas, b. 1732; Nathaniel, b. 1736; 
Mary, b. 1738; Isaiah, b. 1740; Henry, b. 1743, m. Mary Lombard, 1768; Zac- 
Jieus, b. 1745, m - Mehitable , 1772. 

Atwood. — Deacon John Doane sold his house at Plain 
Dealing (Plymouth) in 1636, which he held in common with 
John Atwood, late of London, for ;£6o. Stephen Atwood, 
Eastham, 1644, m Abagail Dunham. This must have been 
among the very first marriages in Eastham. It is inferred 
that Stephen of Eastham was a son of John of Plymouth. The 
first child of Stephen was named John, another inference. 
Other sons were Aldad and Medad. A. m. Anna, daughter 



520 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

of Mark Snow. Stephen is the ancestor of all the Cape race. 
"At a meeting of the proprietors of Pamet Lands, July, 1703, 
granted to Machal Atwood 3 or 4 acres of land, near the 
swamp, above Thomas Newcomb." Machal m. Johanna 
Harding. From this marriage evidently came the family at 
North Truro and probably Provincetown. Son Nathaniel, b. 
171 1, daughter Rebecca, b 1704, m. Joshua Atkins. The 
Wellfleet Atwoods were a large family. Settled on Bound 
Brook Island and Pamet Point ; from these came the other 
families of Truro. They were a tall, muscular race. It used 
to be said that ten Atwoods would make more long measure 
than any other family on the Cape, the Bassetts excepted. 
Machal m. Prudence Harding(?) Children in part : 

i. Joseph, b. 1701, m. Lydia Deane, 1721. 

ii. Rebecca, b. 1704, m. Joshua Atkins, 1722. 

iii. Machal, b. 1706, m. Elizabeth Ireland, 1727. 

iv. Prudence, b. 1709, m. Elisha Parker, 1725. 

v. Nathaniel, b. 171 1. 

vi. Apphiah, b. 1713, m. Isaac Snow, 1739. 

Avery. — The history of the Avery family given in John 
Avery, need not be repeated here. Job 2 first mentioned, is 
the only one of the old minister's children that settled at 
Truro. A great many casualties seemed to follow the family. 

He was born 1713, m. about 1742, Jane Thatcher. Nine children: John, Ruth, 
Elizabeth, Job, b. 1749, m. Jerusha Lombard, 177 1; Samuel, Jane, Thatcher, 
George, taken prisoner by the Indians, James. The children of Job 3 and 
Jerusha Lombard were nine. Nancy, b. 1771, Ephraim and Samuel, lost at sea, 
Mary Combes, Job, Jerusha, Peter L., b 1793, m. Elizabeth Chapman, d. 1S63, 
Elizabeth and John. 

Bangs. — The progenitor of this family was Edward, b. in 
Sussex Co., Eng., 1 592, Was a fellow passenger with Nicholas 
Snow in the Ann, 1623, and joined the Pilgrims ; was reckoned 
among "the first comers," who were entitled to the division 
of 1627, who joined the company of ten to whom fell by lot 
the " great white-back cow." Contributed one sixteenth of 
the forty-ton bark, and was superintendent of building ; m. 
Lydia Hicks; d. 1678. From that marriage came all the 



GENEALOGY. 521 

family of this name, probably in New England, representing 
eminent men in various callings and professions of life. The 
three youngest daughters were m. the same day; from his son, 
Captain Jonathan, was descended Tristam Burgess, the dis- 
tinguished orator of Providence. Jonathan was one of the orig- 
inal proprietors at Truro. Perez, b. about 1763, d. 1830; m. 
Thankful Rich Lombard ; was one of the original Methodists ; 
raised a large family, embracing the Provincetown name. 
Few of the name now in Truro. 

Baker. — A name common to the English race, and has 
many branches. Rev. Nicholas, ordained minister of Scitu- 
ate 1660, d. 1678 ; grad. St. John's, Cambridge, 163 1. Cotton 
Mather calls him " Honest Nicholas Baker of Scituate, he 
was so good a logician that he could offer up to God a 
reasonable service ; so good an arithmetician that he could 
wisely number his days, and so good an orator that he per- 
suaded himself to be a Christian." 2d son, Samuel, was ad- 
mitted a freeman at Barnstable, 1677 ; 3d son, Deacon John, 
m. Anna Annable, 1696. It is thought most of the Cape 
name came from this family. There has been several differ- 
ent families in Truro. The Richard Baker branch came, I 
conclude, from Wellfleet. 

Chapman. — Saxon, cheapman ; a purchaser or merchant; in 
German, Kauffman. Several families came from Southwalk, 
in Surry, to New England. Ralph left England, 1635 ; John 
admitted Boston 1684 ; Isaac at the head of a large family in 
Dennis. Lieutenant Samuel b. about 1760, in Philadelphia, 
sent when a youth to Cambridge, England, to school ; trained 
in the military school and joined the English army, and fought 
in the Revolutionary War ; m. Hannah, daughter of Lewis 
Lombard, b. in Truro, 1763. It is not certain whether he 
first met Miss L. in Nova Scotia, and removed to Truro, or 
moved from Truro to Nova Scotia, on account of being a 
Britisher. Was a jovial and popular old officer with marked 
personalities. He lived at East Harbor, near the Head of the 
Meadow. Children : 



522 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

i. Abraham, b. 1790, m. Mary, dau. Constant Hopkins. 

ii. Lewis Lombard, b. 1793, drowned 181 1. 

iii. Samuel 2 , b. 1793, d. 1768. 

iv. Elizabeth, b. 1796, m. Peter Avery. 

Mr. Abraham Chapman, the father of the Provincetown 
family, was a pleasant Christian gentleman ; died in a good old 
age in Provincetown. 

Collins. — Joseph, son of Henry, starch maker, aged 29; 
wife, Anna; children: Henry, b. 1630, Joseph, b. 1632, and 
Margary (a name continued in the family to this day), em- 
barked from Ireland, 1635 ; settled in Lynn. A member of 
Salem Court, 1639; d. 1687. Son Joseph, b. 1632, moved to 
Eastham, m. Ruth Knowles about 1653. John, son of Joseph 
arid Duty Knowles, b. 1674. 

John 4 (Joseph 3 , Joseph 2 , Henry x ), b. 1674, m. Hannah Doane; 12 children, of 
whom Jonathan 5 , b. 1682, m. Elizabeth Vickery ; removed to Truro. Benjamin s 
b. 1687, m. Sarah ; removed to Truro; were the fathers of the Truro family. 

Children of Benjamin, b. 1687, and Sarah, m. about 1707 : 

i. Ruth b. 1709. 

ii. Richard b. 1710, m. Sarah Lombard, 1732. 
iii. Lydia, b. 1712, m. John Rich, 1727. 
iv. Benjamin, b. 1713, m. Jerusha. 
v. Jonathan, b. 171 5, m. Jane, 
vi. Hannah, b. 1720. 
vii. Mary, b. 1722, m. John Pike, 1754, d. 1758. 

Joseph, b. 1724, m j Phebe Knowles, 1743, a large family; Joseph 
Sylvanus b. 1727. | m. Jerusha Snow, Deborah m. John Kenny. 



vni. 
ix. 



Here lies buried the body of 

Mr. Benjamin Collins 

of Truro, who departed 

this life December 23d, 1756, 

in the 70th year of his age. 

Here rests the body of 

Mrs. Sarah Collins, 

wife of Mr. Benjamin Collins, 

who died April ye 2d, 1759, 

in the 73d year of her age. 

Benjamin, s b. 1713, m. Jerusha. Nine children, which give the familiar names 
to which we are used. Mercy, b. 1737; Jerusha, b. 1739; Hannah, b. 1741 ; 



GENEALOGY. 523 

Richard, b. 1743, Benjamin, b. 1745, m. Rachel Lombard, 1772; Joanna, b. 1746; 
Treat, b. 1748; Sylvanus, b. 1752 ; Micah, b. 1755. The North Truro families 
sprang from Jonathan and Elizabeth Vickery. 

Cobb or Cob. — Henry was at Plymouth, 1632, at Scituate 
the next year ; one of " The Men of Kent." Belonged to Mr. 
Lothrop's church ; was among his first members in Barnstable ; 
made a Ruling Elder 1670. Mr. Lothrop says: "Patience, 
the wife of Henry Cobb, buried May 4, 1648, the first that was 
buried in our new burying-place by our meeting-house." This 
was the old graveyard at West Barnstable or Great Marshes. 

Mr. C. was twice married. First wife, Patience, seven children; second wife, 
Sarah Hinckley, sister of Governor, seven children. The Truro branch were 
from Eastham, which seems a different family. Mr. Pratt says, "Jonathan Cobb 
was in Eastham before 1670 ; his brothers Eleazer, Hughes and Sylvanus, came 
early to America ; later came Benjamin." Isaac, son of Benjamin, was Post 
Admiral in Yarmouth, England. As Jonathan, son of Henry of Barnstable, was 
b. 1670, and had no brothers Sylvanus, Hughes, or Benjamin, among his four- 
teen, the inference is that the Cobbs of Eastham and Truro were from Yarmouth, 
England. Both branches have been large and very respectable. James, son 
of Elder Henry, of Barnstable, m. Sarah Lewis, 1663; son James, b. 1673, m# 
Elizabeth Hallet, 1695; son James, settled in Truro. I have no account of his 
marriage. 

Thomas was probably among the first of the name in Truro, and his children 
cover the leading names of the family, which has never been large, and connected 

mostly with South Truro. He married Mercy . Children: Thomas, b. 1720, 

m. Ruth Collins; Richard, b. 172: ; Tamsin, b. 1724 Joseph, b. 1726; Freeman, 
b. 172S; Elisha, b. 1730; Betty, b. 1732; Sarah, b. 1735. 

Cole. — Job and Daniel, brothers, b. England about 1615. 
1640, Job married at Duxbury, Rebecca Collins, or Collier ; 
came to Yarmouth. Daniel was accepted townsman at East- 
ham, 1649; deputy to General Court, 1654; selectman, 1668 ; 
d. 1699. From them probably descended all of this name on 
the Cape and in Me. 

Daniel m. Ruth Snow. Son Israel, b. 1653, m. Mary Rogers, 1679; was 
among the proprietors of Truro, 16S9; intimately interested in all the town 
interests; one of the largest landowners. Children, Hannah, b. 16S1 ; Isaac, b. 

1685 ; William, b. 1683. Isaac m. Elizabeth . Children, Elizabeth, b. 1717 ; 

Mercy, b. 1719; Prudence, b. 1721 ; Isaac, b. 1723; Joseph, b. 1734. Were 
never a large family in Truro, and have but few representatives ; more at 
Wellfleet. 



5 2 4 



TRURO —CAPE COD. 



Cook. — I. Francis, who with son John came in the May- 
flower, signed the compact in Cape Cod harbor, was the founder 
of the Cook family in the O. C, b. 1577, in the Parish of Blythe, 
adjoining Asterfield, the home of Bradford and Brewster ; early 
made the acquaintance of the Separatists or Pilgrims ; went with 
Mr. Robinson to Holland. His father and grandfather reported 
to have been silk mercers in London. Wife, Hester, a " Walloon 
woman," native of Belgium, who had also come to Holland 
on account of religious persecution. She, with remainder of 
the family, Josias, Jacob, Mary Jane and Elizabeth, came in 
the Ann, July, 1623. It is said many of the passengers of 
the Ann and Fortune first started in the Speedwell, The 
elder Cook was one of the business men in the New Colony. 
Subscribed one sixteenth to the 42-ton bark, the first built in 
Plymouth. His posterity cultivate the enterprise of bark- 
building, taking sometimes sixteen-sixteenths instead of one. 
Died at Cook's Hollow, Kingston, where the name is still 
represented. Will dated December 7, 1659. 

Josias 2 (Francis 1 ) m. Mrs. Eliz. Deaue, 1635, moved with Governor Prince to 
E.; was deputy to General Court, and filled the office of magistrate with 
credit; d. 1673. 

Josias 3 (Josias, 2 Francis 1 ) m. Deborah Hopkins, 1668, dau. Giles. 8 chil. 

Josias 4 (Josias, 3 Josias, 2 Francis r ) b. 1670 ; was among the first proprietors 
of Truro ; have referred to his house at Tashmuit, next Mr. Avery's. I have 
regarded Josias as ancestor of all the Cook family in Provincetown. I may, 
however, be in error, as have not examined their line, 

Davis. — Savage considers Captain Dolan Davis the pro- 
genitor of this numerous family in America. Came from 
Kent, 1634; m. Margery, dau. Richard Willard, b. Horsemon- 
dan, Kent, 1602 ; sister of Major Willard, who came in the 
fleet with Dolan. First lived in Cambridge ; removed to 
Scituate, 1635. Prominent ; d. 1673. 

Benjamin, the father of the Truro family, it is understood, came when a boy 
from Snow Hill, Md., m. Eliz. Rowe, whose mother belonged to the old Savage 
family. Children : Benjamin moved to Readfield, Me. ; James m. Sarah Atkins; 
three sons d. Sarah, widow of Dr. N. J. Knight, living in Somerville. 

Ebenezer L. m. Azubah Hinckley; children, Dinah, m. Captain Benjamin 
Dyer, both deceased ; Solomon Esq., m. Eliz. Snow, captain in the last Truro 



GENEALOGY. 525 

militia, Dea. of the Cong. Ch., member of both branches of the Leg. and mem- 
ber of Governor's Council. A most examplary and consistent man and a valu- 
able citizen; all deceased. Captain Ebenezer m. Maria Harding; many years a 
shipmaster ; and member of the Leg. ; moved to Somerville in about 1848. Marine 
Inspector for Boston more than thirty years. Deacon of the Cong. Ch. at 
Somerville, V. P. Cape Cod Asso. Captain Davis is still in vigorous health, 
though verging upon 80, and may be found every day at his office at the Mer. J 
Ex. Betsey, m. I. S. Gross already noticed. Benjamin m. Betsey Stevens, a 1 
man of stainless character, moved to Somerville; both deceased. Azubah, 
widow of Thomas Paine, now living in Charlestown, and Joshua H., of Som- 
erville, referred to, m. Anna Gross Lombard. 

Dyer — This old English name was early in New England 
considerably associated with colonial history, and had branched 
into extensive families before 1700, as will be seen by the fol- 
lowing list : 

William Dyer, Barnstable, b. 1653. 
" " Newport, R. I., b. 1657. 

" " Dorchester, d. 1672, aged 93, b. 1579. 

" " Lynn, b. 1673. 

" " Boston, Surveyor of customs in 1680. 

William of Newport (perhaps Dyar) father, or relative of 
above, claims our first attention. His wife was the celebrated 
Quaker, Mary Dyer, hung in 1660, for opinion's sake. Son 
Maharshalalhashbaz. Dr. William of Barnstable, b. 1653. 
Settled at Truro before the proprietors. I know nothing of his 
early history. 

He m. 1686, Mary, dau of Wm. Taylor of B. The house occupied by 
the late Capt. Ebenezer Atkins taken down within the last twenty years, was 
built by him. The gravestones from which we copy, are still in good condition 
in the Old North. 

Here lies buried the body of 

Dr. Wm. Dyer, aged about 85 years. 

Died July ye 27th, 1738. 

Here lies buried the body of Mrs. 

Mary Dyer, wife to 

Dr. Wm. Dyer. 

Died Oct. ye 8th, 173S, 

aged about 80 years. 



526 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

The old doctor had a knack of keeping in hot water with 
his neighbors, and like Tristam Shandy's father, had a spice in 
his temper known by the name of perseverance in a good 
cause, and obstinacy in a bad one. I should do great injus- 
tice to a long line of descendants, justly proud of their ances- 
tors, to deny them a like precious inheritance. His family all 
married and settled around him, soon became among the 
largest and most influential in town ; a position maintained to 
this day. At a late visit to the Congregational Sunday- 
school, I noticed all the officers, many of the teachers, the 
organist, ex-superintendent, and pastor's wife, were of that 
name. 

A lady at Truro, an only child, some years married, unites 
in herself four quarters Dyer, without a twist. Her father and 
mother and both grandmothers born Dyer. Can a parallel 
be produced ? Children : 

i. Lydia, b. 1688. 

ii. William Junisimus, b. 1690, m. Hannah. 

Hi. Jonathan, b. 1692, m. Phebe. 2d, Hannah, 

iv. Henry, b. 1693, m. Anne, 

v. Isabel, b. 1695, m - Samuel Small, 1713. 

vi. Ebenezer, b. 1697, m. Sarah Doane of Eastham, 1720. 

vii. Samuel, b. 1698. m. Mary Brown, he d. 1773. 

viii. Judah b. 1701, m. Phebe Young, sons, Elijah, Judah. 

The above all married young as was the rule, had large families which we 
cannot here trace. This was one of the families that inclined to sons and 
multiplied. William Junisimus had nine sons : Ambrose, John, William, Joseph, 
Anthony, Christopher, Saml., Levi, Benjamin, dau's. Hannah and Isabel. Samuel 
b. 1724, m. Mary Paine, 1746. Settled in Longnook, where now lives Mr. 
Williams ; was the great-grandfather of Squire Dyer. Children (perhaps others 
than here mentioned) : Mary Paine was dau. of Jonathan. 

i. Shebnah, b. 1748, m. Mary Paine. 

ii. Thomas, b. 1750. m. Mary Lombard, 1771. 

Hi. Sarah, b. 1752, m. Joseph Small, 1770. 

iv. Mary ( Molly ) b. 1754, m. Joshua Rich, 1776. 

v. Jemima, b. 1765, m. Captain Caleb Knowles. 

Jonathan, 2d son of Dr. Dyer, twice married., was bap. by Mr. Upham in 
private, January 20, 1773, when over 80. Sons, Jonathan, David, Solomon, 
Micah, Elisha, Caleb, William ; dau's, Phebe, Susanna, Ruth. Solomon, m. 
Sarah Atkins of Wellfleet is the ancestor of the family in Wellfleet. Susannah 
m. Samuel Hinckes. Ruth m. Benj. Gross. Henry, 3d son of Dr. Dyer, m. 



GENEALOGY. 527 

Anne. Sons, Henry, Reuben, James, Lemuel, Ephraim ; dau's, Annie, Abagail. 
This family settled perhaps in Provincetown. Ebenezer, 4th son, m. Sarah 
Doane. Sons, Ebenezer, Benjamin, Fulk; dau's, Sarah, Dorcas, Keturah. 
Present Ebenezer represents this family. Some curiosity has been shown about 
the Christian name Fulk. It was an English sir name of some prominence. I 
think Lord Greville Fulk was high in command in the Navy. He (Fulk) b. 1733, 
m. Elizabeth Atkins of Wellfleet; son Fulk; other sons were Henry, John and 
Paul, through whom come a long line; dau. Rachel, b. 1757, m. John Hughes. 
Dorcas, b. 1729, m. Jonah Gross. Samuel, 7th son of Dr. Dyer, m. Mary 
Brown ; had sons Samuel, Sylvanus, and dau. Thankful m. James Lombard. 
It is not probable that I have all the names, as there was a Paul b. 1746, d. 1837, 
aged 91. I cannot tell whose son. I think a careful study of the names here 
presented will enable this large family to gather a clue of their own respective 
branch. 

Freeman. — Samuel, the ancestor of the first branch of the 
Truro Freemans, b. Devonshire. Settled 1630 in Watertown. 
Was one of the principal proprietors ; owned one seventh of 
the township. Built house there 163 1, d. England, leaving 
sons Henry and Samuel. Henry died without issue in Bos- 
ton ; owned the Watertown estate. Deacon Samuel 8 (Sam- 
uel 1 ) b. Watertown, 1638 ; Eastham, 1658, m. Mercy, daughter 
Constant Southworth of Plymouth, whose mother married 
Governor Bradford. Son Constant born 1669 ; Truro 
proprietor. 

Constant 3 (Deacon Samuel 2 , Samuel 1 ) m. Jane, 1694, dau. Rev. Mr. Treat. 
Children : 

i. Robert, b. 1696, named for old Governor Treat, of Connecticut, m. 

Mary Paine, 1723. 

ii. Jane, b. 1697, d. in infancy, 

iii. Jane, b. 1699. 

iv. Constant, b. 1700, m. Ann. 

v. Mercy, b. 1702, m. Caleb Hopkins, 

vi. Hannah, b. 1704, m. Micah Gross, 1725. 

vii. Eunice, b. 1705, m. William Crocker, 1733. 

viii. Elizabeth, b. 1707, m. James Lombard, 1729. 

ix. Jonathan, b. 1710, m. Rebecca Binney, removed to Gorham, Me. 

x. Apphiah, b. 1713, m. Samuel Bickford, 1731- 

xi. Deacon Joshua, b. 1717, m. Rebecca Parker, 1746. 

Near the main road, and quite prominent in the old grave- 
yard, stand the gravestones of perhaps the second man in 
influence among the Truro settlers, and his wife, Jane Treat, 
inscribed : 



52 8 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Captain Constant Freeman, 

aged 76 years, 

died June ye 6th, 1745. 

Jane Freeman, 

wife to 

Constant Freeman, 

died Sept. 1, 1729, 

aged 54 years. 

Deacon Joshua 4 (Constant, 3 Samuel, 2 Samuel 1 ) b. 1717, m. Rebecca Parker. 
Children : 

i. Apphiah, b. 1748, m. Samuel Gross, 

ii. Rebecca, b. 1750, d. young. 

iii. Sarah, b. 1752, m. Nathaniel Smith, of Gerry, Vt. 

iv. Rebecca, b. 1754, m. Cornelius Lombard. 

it will be noticed that the male branch of this family did not increase, and the 
name has long been extinct in Truro, but Mercy, Hannah, Elizabeth, Apphiah, 
and Rebecca Freeman by marriage with Caleb Hopkins, Micah and Samuel 
Gross and Cornelius and James Lombard, touch the blood of nearly every fam- 
ily in Truro. 

Mr. Edmund Freeman, the ancestor of all that patronymic now on the Cape 
and wherever else located, was born in England, about 1 590. Rev. F. Freeman 
says: "He is supposed by some to be a brother of Samuel, who settled at 
Watertown, of which there is no proof." Came to New England 1635, to Sand- 
wich. 1637, a grant having been made to him and nine associates April 3, 1637. 
He was of position and means in England, being brother-in-law of Mr. Beau- 
champ and other London merchant adventurers. Mr. F. was confidential agent. 
He was the principal man in the town and assisted the Governor of the colony ; 
d. Sandwich, 1682, aged 92 years. Sons Edmund and John came in the ship 
Abagail 1635 ; both married daughters of Governor Prince who, with Mr. Treat, 
seems to have furnished wives for a share of the prominent men on the Cape. 

Children of Edmund, son of John and Mercy, Isaac, Ebenezer, Edmund, 
Ruth, Sarah, Mary, Experience, Mercy, Thankful, Elizabeth, Hannah, and 
Rachel, which may all be found to-day among the descendants in Wellfleet and 
South Truro. 

Probably no family has been more prominent on the Cape, 
nor has maintained through so many generations the race 
characteristics of fine physical proportions and average mental 
endowments of their old English ancestry. Rev. Frederick 
Freeman has published a history of the Freeman family. 

Gross. — Gross, Grosse and Groce ; by American genealo- 
gists are regarded the same family, the variations being only 
the accidents of the times and of emigration. 



GENEALOGY. 529 

It has been accepted as good history, I know not from what 
authority, that the Cape Cod family of Gross were Huguenots, 
and that the name not many generations back was De Gross. 
My theory does not disprove this statement. Gross is evi- 
dently a French name. They may have been Huguenots, 
but probably of Norman stock. The American family were 
indisputably from England. The Harlian Society publica- 
tions speak of " Grosse who came out of Norfolk and lived at 
Liskard." "The visition of Cornwall. Ezechiell Grosse, of 
Camborne, 7 Sonnes. Frances, dau. of Ezechiell Grosse, esq. 
and Margarett bap. 16 Aug. 1616 at Probus Joan dau. of E. G. 
m. at St Ives 7 mar. 1623 to Tho. Tremwirth of Tilmuth." 
Also Grose. " Wm Grose, gent and Alice dau of Wm Norse- 
worthy, mar 1639." " Edward Grosse and Anna Kulthmans 
m. 7 April 161 1. Truro Par. Reg. Jonathan Grosse & 
Kathren Polsewe m. 1619." These last are Cornish names. 

Dr. Savage gives " Grosse " only. " Isaac, born in Eng- 
land, was a brewer, m. before 1649. Son Clement b. in Bos- 
ton. Isaac, son of Clement, cordwainer in Boston." Savage 
evidently does not quote all the issue, but is content to give 
the connecting links. Barry s History of Hanover gives 
Edmund Gross in Boston, 1642, died there 1655. Also 
Clement, who left son Isaac, brother of Matthew. This must 
be the same Isaac referred to by Savage as son of Clement, 
cordwainer, showing conclusively that they are the same 
family. Clement left son Simon, who in 1675 m. Mary Bond 
in Boston and settled at Hingham. No male of this name was 
a taxable inhabitant of Boston in 1695. This fact cuts us 
clear of the Boston family. 

Simon and Mary Bond, m. 1675, are unquestionably the 
ancestors of the Truro and Wellfleet families, and reasonably 
of all on Cape Cod, and gives us the following well-sustained 
connection : 

Simon* (Isaac, 3 Clement, 2 Isaac 1 ) m. Mary Bond, 1675. Children : 

i. Simon, b. 1676. 

ii. Thomas, b. 1678, m. Hinckes of Dover Neck. 

iii. John, b. 1681. 

iv. Josiah, b. 1683. 



530 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

v. Micah, b. 1685. TheTruro patriarch, m. Mary . 2d H. Freeman. 

vi. Alice, b. 1689. 
vii. Abigail, b. 1692. 

Micah 5 (Simon, 4 Isaac, 3 Clement, 2 Isaac 1 ) b. 1685, m. Mary d. 1724, 

aged 35. Second, Hannah Freeman, dau. Constant and Jane Treat, d. 1758, 
aged 54. He d. 1753, aged (by gravestone at the Old North) 68, proving him 
to have been b. 1685, the same year as Micah, son of Simon; thus establishing 
his identity by the Hingham record. Collateral proof is the names of his children 
b. at Truro, which in the old record are almost infallible. The first-born Simon, 
Josiah, etc. Children : 

i. Simon, b. 1709, m. Phebe Collins. 2d Lydia Hinckley, 1755. 
ii. Ebenezer, b. 17 13. 
iii. Israel, b. 17 iS, m. Eliz. Rich, 1740. 2d Lydia, dau. of Dea. Moses 

Paine, 
iv. Mary, b. 1720, m. Richard Stevens Jr., 1741. 
v. Micah, b. 1726, lost at sea. 

vi. Jonah, b. 172S, m. Dorcas Dyer, 1749, dau. of Ebenezer. 
vii. Joseph, b. 1731, lost at sea. 

viii. Benjamin, b. 1733, m. Ruth Dyer, 1757, dau. of Jonathan, 
ix. Hannah, b. 1740. 

x. John, b. 1744, m. Eliz. . 2d Mrs. Susannah Snow, dau. of Eph- 

raim Lombard. Her son was Capt. Nath'l Snow, the father of 
Nath'l, late merchant of Boston, extensively engaged in the Rus- 
sian trade, d. at France, left a large estate. 

Israel 6 (Micah 5 , Simon 4 , Isaac 3 , Clement 2 , Isaac 1 ) b. 17 17, m. Eliz. Rich 
and Lydia Paine. Was a prominent man. First lived near the valley south of 
the old graveyard, still known as the " old orchard." Then built the large flat 
house at the village, where lived Captain John Collins. In this house were 
born Captains Israel Gross, John and Edward Knight Collins. Children: 

i. Israel, b. 1741, d. young. 

ii. Samuel, b. 1743, m. Apphiah Freeman, 1768, 2d, Mary Lewis, 1776. 

iii. Jaazaniah, b. 1745, m. widow Sarah Snow, was the father of Captain 

Jaazainah. 

iv. Elizabeth, b. 1748, m. Isaiah Atkins Jr., 1764. 

v. Mary, b. 1749, m. Barzillia Smith, 1719. 

vi. Joseph, b. 1751, m. Deliverance Dyer, 1773. 

vii. Dilla or Delia, b. 1755, m. Tohn Collins, 1774, d. 181 1. 

viii. Micah ) By ) b. 1764, m. Eliz. 

ix. Lydia > Lydia > b. 1769. 

x. Israel ) Paine ) b. 1772. 

The Gross Family of Wellfleet. — Strange as it may 
seem, I have found no person able to tell me the grandfather 
of Deacon Thomas Gross. There is a tradition that his 



GENEALOGY. 531 

name was Thomas ; that he went from Hingham to Piscataqua, 
or Dover Neck, and there married daughter of Gov. or Judge 
Hincks ; that she died at the birth of her first-born, who re- 
ceived the maternal family name, a custom then not uncom- 
mon. Touching the after life of the father tradition is silent. 
There are indications that he moved to Nova Scotia, which we 
shall consider later. In proof of the tradition I find in the 
Dover Neck records : — 



Hincks married, date unknown, Gross, and had Hincks Gross, who 

lived in 1729 at Billingsgate (Wellfleet) on Cape Cod," also find " Hincks Gross, 
who lived for a while in the British Provinces, and afterwards removed to Well- 
fleet and m. Abigail Crowell." This Hincks is the father of Dea. Thomas. 
The history is straight enough in him. In the records of the First Church 
of Charlestown is the following: "John Hincks, Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of New Hampshire, came from England 1670 [Savage 1673]. He lived on 
Great Island, Portsmouth, now Newcastle, remained in office councillor C. J., 
and captain of the King's fort till 1707; was living in 1722; d. before 1734." 
This was the maternal grandfather of Hincks Gross. Samuel Hincks, the Truro 
schoolmaster referred to, was the son of Samuel and grandson of John, b. in 
Portsmouth, 171 1, moved with his parents to Boston. So Hincks Gross and 
Samuel Hincks were cousins. 



We have yet to account for the father of Hincks. We 
have stated that there is, or was, an understanding that his 
name was Thomas. Dr. O. R. Gross understood from his 
father that his grandfathers Deacon Thomas and Israel of 
Truro were cousins. They could not be cousins-german, but 
it denotes recognized relationship. The second son of Simon 
and Mary Bond, b. 1678, was Thomas, a brother to Micah. 
Nothing is now known of his history. But the traditions, the 
fact that the first child of Hincks received the name of Alice, 
another Abigail, and the first son the name of Thomas, all the 
dates, and acknowledged relationship with the Truro branch, 
are the links in the chains of evidence that point unmistakably 
to Thomas as the man. The fact that a large family of Gross 
with the marked Yankee family characteristics are known in 
Nova Scotia, and that Hincks " lived for a time in the British 
Provinces," makes it presumably certain that Thomas went 
thence from Dover Neck, where he married and died. This 
then is the line : 



532 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Hinckes 6 ( Thomas, s Simon, 4 Isaac, 3 Clement, 2 Isaac, 1 ) b. about 1705, m. 
Abigail Crovvell of Chatham in 1734, perhaps before; the date of all his children 
not known, but as Deacon Thomas was b. 1740, and was the 7th child, it would 
denote considerable despatch if m. 1734. His house was east of the Gull Pond, 
not far from the little neck that divides the ponds. His second m. is noticed 
under the "bans" as follows : Jany. 27,1756, Mr. Hinckes Gross of Eastham 
to Mrs. Bethiah Rich of Truro. I found the gravestone of the last named, at 
the Old North, in Truro, near the Gross neighborhood, entirely overgrown by a 
clump of brush, in good condition, with the following inscription : 

In memory of 

Mrs. Bethiah Rich, 

widow of Mr. Hinckes Gross, 

who died Jan'y 5, 1789, 

In the 82d year of her age. 

Mr. Gross is often mentioned in the Wellfleet records ; held various offices and 
was quite prominent in business affairs ; not known to the writer when he died, or 
where buried. Children : 

i. Alice, b. , m. Thomas Paine of Truro, 1759. 

ii. Azubah, b. , m. John Wetherell, of Wellfleet, 1765. 

iii. Sally, b. , m. Crowell Lombard of Eastham. 

iv. Huldah, b. , m Josiah Rider of Chatham. 

v. Hannah, b. , m. Reuben Rich of Truro. 

vi. Elizabeth, b. , m. David Newcomb. 

vii. Dea. Thomas, b. 1740, m. Abigail, 1765, dau. John and Rebecca 

(Harding) Young, 

viii. Jabez, b. , m. Dorothy Ellis of Provincetown. Settled in Maine. 

Dea. Thomas 7 (Hinckes, 6 Thomas, 5 Simon, 4 Isaac, 3 Clem- 
ent, 2 Isaac, 1 ) b. 1740, m. Abigail Young, 1765. House not 
far from his father's ; about midway of the Gull Pond ; so near 
the margin that all the water was taken from the pond as 
needed. A few apple-trees still stand in the old orchard. 
Children : 

i. Laurania, b. 1767, m. Captain Eleazer Higgins, d. 1856. 
ii. Abigail, b. 1769, m. Wm Barge of Boston, d. 1851. 
iii. Hinckes, b. 1770, d. in infancy. 

iv. Sarah (Sally), b. 1773, m. Joseph Rider, 2d John Chipman, d. 1867. 
v. Bethiah, b. 1775, m - Micah Dyer, d. 1867. 
vi. Thomas, b. 1778, m. Betsey Millne of N. Y., drowned, 1828. 
vii. Hinckes, b. 1780, m. Betsey Snow of Truro, d. 1861. 
viii. Rebecca Young, b. 1783, m. Capt. John Barnacoat of Charlestown, 
d. 1862. 
ix. Polly Stickney (Mary), b. 1785, m. Captain Frank Cartwright, 2d 
Rev. Bartholemew Otheman, d. 1S78. 



GENEALOGY. 533 

x. Cynthia, b. 17S6, m. Richard Atvvood, d. 1865. 
xi. Thankful, b. 17SS, m. Rev. Elijah Willard, d. 1872. 
xii. Deborah, b. 1789, m. Daniel Paine, 2d Richard Paine of Truro, d. 
Sept. 11, 18S2, the last of the family. 

xiii. Jonathan, b. 1791, m. Cynthia , of Duxbury, d. 1871. 

xiv. Miriam (Maria), b. 1794, m. Freeman Atkins of Provincetown, d. 1873. 

t.>r this family, like many others here introduced, much might be said. T find 
others of the name which I cannot connect. Mrs. Phebe Gross, daughter S. Pen- 
hallww, was 2d wife of Leonard Vassal], the wealthy planter who built the first 
hous»> in Summer street, Boston, a man of great wealth, who lived like a 
nabow Lieut. Gross was in the Expedition to Louisburg in 1745. "April 20th, 
Lieut, jross with about seventy men to go on board ye Superbe." " Aug. 19, 
about v * of the clock, died Lieut. Jonah Gross in Louisburg." " Two o'clock, 
P. M., L «ut. Gross was buried. Fired 14 guns as he was carried to his grave." 
Abdonajah Bidwell. Chaplain of the Fleet. 

GRtr^iER. — My information of this family is limited and 
less positive than I could wish. I find a record, "Captain 
John Grozier, of Truro, m. Polly Pepper of Eastham, 1770." 
The following is perhaps a partial list of the first family. I 
have no knowledge of the father. 

Capt. John, b. about 1750, m. Polly Pepper; Joshua Hopkins, b. 1760; Wil- 
liam, b. 1762; Mercy, b. 1764; Mary, b. 1766. Another sister, 176S. Capt. 
Caleb Upham, b. 1770, m. Hannah Atkins; built the large house now belong- 
ing to the estate of James Hughes ; was a business man. In 1S28, master of a 
brig, was murdered by pirates with all his crew, 2d mate excepted. I under- 
stand the Rev. Mr. Kittredge, of Chicago, formerly of Charlestown, is related 
to this family. 

The children of Capt. John and Polly Pepper in part without regard to date, 
were William, Robert, Caleb Upham, Mary, Mercy, m. John Small. John, b. 
1788, the father of the present Truro family, the last survivor of Dartmore. 
Freeman m. dau. of Jona. Cook, may have been another brother. William, I 
think, moved to Maine. I find Joshua Freeman Grozier, wife Martha, Province- 
town, son William, b. 1794. Also Joshua, lost in passage from P. to Boston. 
Capt. Caleb Upham, d. Calcutta; sisters, Mary, Sally and Salome. Also 
Mehitable, Maria and Adeline. 

Hinckley. — Is an ancient name in England. Town of 
Hinckley in Leicester. John De Hinkele, was high sheriff 
of Staffordshire, 1327-30. John Hinckley was esquire to 
Hugh, Earl of Stafford, who, in his will dated Sept. 25, 1385, 
bequeathed " to John Hinckley my esquire, xx 1." Samuel 
Hinckly, of Tenderton, Kent, came to N. E. in the Hercules, 



534 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

of Sandwich, 1634. With him came wife Sarah and four 
children, one of whom was Thomas, b. 16 18. Settled first at 
Scituate ; at Barnstable, 1639; prominent in public life; m. 
Sarah, d. 1656 ; 2d Bridget Bodfish. He d. 1662. Will men- 
tions "Prosper" and " Thrivewell," two cows. 

Gov. Thomas 3 (Thomas, 2 Samuel 1 ). Twice m'd, 16 children. If half 
the old records are true, 2d wife Mrs. Mary Glover, who bore him nine chil- 
dren, was a rare gentlewoman. " At Barnstable she to the day of her death ap- 
peared and shone in ye eyes of all, as ye loveliest and brightest woman for 
Beauty, Knowledge, wisdom, majesty, accomplishments and graces throughout 
ye Colony." At her death the Gov. wrote three pages of verses to her mem- 
ory. " Pity me O my friends and for me pray." He was made Gov. of Mass., 
r68i. Continued with slight interruption till 1692. His acceptance of office 
under Andros, was regretted by his friends, has been sharply criticised, and his 
policy regarded questionable, though well intended. He, however, was a man 
of much energy of character and distinguished reputation. His life covered 
the history of Ply. Col. His grave, at Great Marshes, attracts many visitors. 
Had 12 daughters. 

The old Gov.'s family was no exception in number to the times. Of 90 
families in Billerica, one had 21, five 14, and 90 showed an aggregate of 1043, or 
over 11 to every family. The record of 100 years, in some of the old towns, 
shows not a single family childless. 

All paired, and each pair built a nest. 

Shubael, a g. s. of the Gov. was 4 times m.; 20 children. Founded the 
family at Old York, d. in Hallowell, Me., 1798, aged 91. The Hinckleys of Maine, 
mostly, belong to this stock. 

A good many Hinckleys were connected with Truro. Shubael was among 
the early residents ; children, John, Mary, Shubael, Job., Hannah, Ruth m. 
Isaiah Atkins, Lydia, Meletiah, m. Thomas Paine, Eliz. m. Hicks Smalley, and 
Christiana, Oct. 11, 1759, m. Abram Coan of E. Hampton, L. I. Seth Hinckley 
m. Thankful Atwood, Josiah m. Lydia, dau. of Thomas Paine. 

Benjamin m. Dinah Swett of Wellfleet, 1769; children, Azubah, Joshua, 
Benjamin, Dorcas, Betsey, Thankful, Solomon. Son Deacon Benjamin m. 
Mercy Collins ; children, Dorcas, Hannah, Mercy, Benjamin and Delia. Deacon 
Allen, b. Falmouth, 1769, belonged to the family of Samuel, brother of the Gov- 
ernor, came to Truro when young, learned the trade of carpenter. At the time 
of his death, 1S61, was the oldest man in town. Was small, active, wiry and 
apparently tireless. At 80 could do a good day's work and hop off a mile on foot, 
like a boy. His life was long, useful, gentle, kind and blameless. He was esquire 
and justice besides deacon. To show the confidence in his integrity and justice, 
a young man had some trifling differences with the Squire's son, and brought an 
action for him (the esquire) to sit in judgment. He heard the case with due def- 
erence, weighed the facts and fined his son a trifling amount, to the entire satisfac- 
tion of the complainant. It was a beautiful sight which I love to recall, to see 
him officiate in his office on communion Sabbath. His lithe figure, neat and erect, 



GENEALOGY. 535 

step light, quick and graceful ; face beaming with sweet becoming dignity, and 
crowned with flowing white locks, was a picture such as I have never seen in 
the galleries of painted saints. His son Captain Eben N., was the sailmaker in 
Truro ; dau. m. Captain Winslow Knowles of Brewster. 

Hatch. — William and Thomas, brothers, from Sandwich, 
Kent. William was in Scituate, 1633, returned to England 
and came back in the Hercules with family. Ruling elder of 
First Church ; followed Mr. Lothrop, as did most of his con- 
gregation, to Barnstable, where d. 

Thomas was a freeman in Dorchester. Freeman says Boston, 1634, in Barn- 
stable before 1643, d, Scituate 1661. Son Jonathan b. in England, settled in 
Barnstable, m. Sarah Rowley, 1646. Was among the first settlers of Falmouth, 
as the first records of 1661 say. " Second, Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson 
because they have built their houses, shall have the lots by the houses." Son 
Moses, born in Falmouth, moved to Truro, m. Mrs. Hannah, widow of Lieut. 
Jonathan Bangs. There is a tradition that he was called Moses because born 
before the house was finished, during heavy rains. Joseph of Scituate m. 
1710, Lydia Young of Truro, moved to Truro in 171 1, after birth of son Joseph. 
They were a considerable family at Provincetown. Joseph Hatch of Cape 
Cod m. 1730, Isabella Small of Truro, also Joseph Hatch of Cape Cod m. 
1 7 18, Deborah Cook of Truro, dau. of Josias. John and wife Tabitha removed 
to Truro about 1727. Children: John, Margaret, Ezekiel, Naylor, Joseph, 
Elizabeth and Asa. 1743 Benjamin Hatch of Boston m. Ann Lewis of Truro. 

Harding. — A register at St. John's College, 1629, referring 
to blunders in spelling names, mentions Hawalden appearing 
in two forms ; viz : Cowarden and Harding. This last appearing 
is well distributed on the Cape, and is not an uncommon 
name generally in this country. 

Widow Martha Harding of Plymouth, d. 1633, leaving her young son John to 
Deacon Doane, in whose behalf he was appointed administrator. Here we get 
the first trace of this name in America. Joseph unquestionably, son of John 
early a freeman in Eastham, m. Bethiah, dau. of Josias Cook, 1660, n children, 
one of whom, Nathaniel, b. 1674, m. Hannah, moved to Truro. Also dau. 
Johannah, b. 1676, m. Machael Atvvood as noticed. The following is the first 
Truro family: Nathaniel 3 (Joseph, 2 John, 1 ) b. 1674, m. Hannah. Children: 

i. Nathaniel, b. 

ii. Bethiah, b. 1713, m. John Lombard, 1737. 

iii. Martha, b. 1726, m. Joshua Atkins, I742. 

iv. Sarah, b. 1728. 

v. James, b. 1730. 

vi. Anne, b. 1732. 

vii. Mary, b. 1735. 



536 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Nathaniel 4 (Nathaniel, 3 Joseph, 2 John,*) b. about 1711, m. Mercy Pur- 
ington about 1730. Children : 

i. Ephraim, b. 1731. 

ii. Mercy, b. 1733. 

iii. Jesse, b. 1736. 

iv. Nathaniel, b. 1738. 

v. Elizabeth, b. 1740, m. probably Simon Newcomb 

vi. Samuel, b. 1742. 

vii. Hezekiah, b. 1745. 

viii. Nehemiah, b. 1747. 

We cannot trace further. In the above, however, may be found the leading 
branches in Truro, though there were others. Joseph m. 1740, Eunice New- 
comb, dau. of Simon, Gamaliel Smith, m. Hannah Harding, 1741. David Dyer, 
m. Ruth Harding, 1742. 

Hopkins. — More Truro families can trace their pedigree 
through Stephen Hopkins than to any others of the Pilgrims. 
He was not of the Leyden congregation, but joined them in 
London, where he belonged. He was of large family and con- 
siderable estate ; perhaps the least educated of the Pilgrims, 
and about the only one that signed his name with a cross. He 
seems to have been a man of practical judgment, good business 
qualifications, and a valuable acquisiton to the Colony. He d. 
Plymouth, 1644. Will exhibited at court, August, 1644. 
He desired to be buried by the side of his wife deceased. 
Named son Caleb as " heir apparent," and executor of his 
will, together with Miles Standish, supervisor ; naming all 
his children, Giles, Constance ( m. Nicholas Snow), Demaris, 
(m. Jacob Cook), Oceanus, Caleb, d. Barbadoes, Deborah, 
Ruth and Elizabeth. It will be noticed with few exceptions, 
all these names are in familiar use to-day. The Truro branch 
came through Giles, m. Catherine Whelden, had ten children. 
3d son Caleb was the Truro progenitor, as follows : 

Caleb 3 (Giles, 2 Stephen 1 ) b. about 1651, m. Thankful -. Children, proba- 
bly only in part, were — 

i. Caleb, m. Mercy Freeman, about 1719. 

ii. Nathaniel, m Mercy Mayo, 1707. 

iii. Thomas,,m. Deborah 

iv. Thankful, m. Ambrose Dyer, 1729. 

v. Constant, m. Phebe Paine. 



GENEALOGY. 537 

The children of Caleb and Mercy Freeman were Constant, b. 1720, m. Phebe 
Paine, 1743, dau. Jona. ; Mary, b. 1722, Thankful, b. 1724, m. Elisha Paine, b. 
1721; Caleb, b. 1726, Jonathan, b. 172S, Simeon, or Simon, b. 1731. m. Betty 
Cobb; Mercy, b. 1734, James, b. 1736, Joshua, b. 1738, Abie], b 1741. The 
children of Thomas and Deborah — Samuel, b. 1720, Hannah and Thomas, 
twins, 1730, Rebecca, b. 1732, Jerusha, b. 1734, Deborah, b. 1736, Micah, b. 
1739, Caleb, b. 1741, Caleb, b. 1743. Soldier of the Rev., drew a pension to the 
end of his long life ; 1836, m. Thankful. The father of Lemuel, Thomas, Solomon, 
William and Deborah, m. Lott. Harding. Mary, b. 1745, Sarah, b. 1748, 
Jeremiah, b. 1750. The children of Constant and Phebe Paine, Constant, b. 
1747, Jonathan, b. 1748, Scammon, b. 1751, Caleb, b. 1753, Micah, 1755, Phebe, 
1759, Hannah, 1761, Mary, b. 1762, Mercy, b. 1765. Isaac, b. 1725, d. 1814, of 
whom Mr. Damon says, " The oldest man that has died since my settlement." 
I have not been able to connect. Son, m. 1772, Lydia, dau. Simon Newcomb, 
the father of Isaac (and bro. Simon) ; d. about 1775, m. 1801, Hannah Rich. 
Sons, Sylvanus R., Richard R., Nathaniel and Isaac. May have descended from 
Nathaniel 2d., son of Caleb, of whom I have no record. 

Higgins. — Fred. Freeman states he has found in the 
annals of old Barnstable, running back to King Richard II., 
the Hugonis (Higgins). Some authorities think contracted 
from Higginson ; the reverse more consistent. Celtic or Irish 
extraction. Richard, a tailor, came, it is said, from England in 
same ship with Nicholas Snow. A freeman at Plymouth, 
1633, is the patriarch of the Cape family. Was of Governor 
Prince's company who settled at Eastham. Had sundry grants 
of land from the Colonial Court, 1657, the last date of issuing 
such grants. Moved to N. J., where it is understood he died 
1675, as his son Benjamin applied that year to the court for 
land in right of his father Richard deceased ; m. 1st Lydia, 
dau. of Edward Chandler of Scituate ; 2d, Mary Yates. 

Benjamin 3 (Benjamin, 2 Richard, 1 ) b. 1640, m. Lydia Bangs, 9 children ; we 
follow : 

Benjamin 4 (Benjamin, 3 Benjamin, 2 Richard 1 ) b. 1664, m. Sarah, dau. Edward 
Freeman, 1694. ' 

From this marriage of ten children sprang the W. and T. stock. Among the 
ten are the familiar family names Eleazer, Theophilus, Jedediah, Reuben, etc. 
We follow : 

Eleazer s (Benjamin,* Benjamin, 3 Benjamin, 2 Richard 1 ) b. 1697, m. Sarah, 

1724- 

Children, Eleazer, b. 1726, Joseph, b. 1728, Enoch, b. 1730, Jedediah, b. 1733, 
Richard, b. 1735, Sarah, b. 1740, Hannah, b. 1742. 

Enoch 6 (Eleazer, 5 Benjamin, 4 Benjamin, 3 Benjamin, 2 Richard, 1 ) b.1730, m. . 

Children Wellfleet branch : 



538 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Uriah, Eleazer, b. 1759, Ephraim, Reuben, Enoch, Elizabeth, m. Rev. Edward 
Whittle ; Sarah, m. Nathan Harding ; Mary, m. Jeremiah Newcomb. 

Eleazer 7 (Enoch, 6 Eleazer, 5 Benjamin, 4 Benjamin 3 Benjamin, 2 Richard 1 ) b. 
1759, m. 1785, Laurania Gross. Children* 

i. Joseph, b. 1786, m. Abigail Brown about 1812, d. 1866. 
ii. Belinda, b. 1788, m. Shebnah Rich, Truro, 1807, d. Nov. 1878. 
iii. Jerusha Rich, b. 1791, m. Rev. Joel Steel, 1810, d. Strafford, Vt , 

1824. 
iv. Abigail Young, b. 1794, m. Isaac Harding, 1815, d. Cambridgeport, 

1855- 
v. Charles, b. 1797, d. 1806. 

vi. Sally Rider, b. 1800, m. Knowles Dyer, 1820. 
vii. Laurania, b. 1802, m. Robert Holbrook, 1820. 

viii. Betsey Milne, b. 1805, m. James Smith, Truro, 1824, 2d David Baker 
of Wellfleet, d. 1871. 
ix. Hannah, b. 1808, m. John Bacon, 1827. 
x. Mary Gross, b. 181 1, m. Benjamin Baker, 1830, d. Boston, 1842. 

Jedediah, 6 b. 1733, son of Eleazar 5 is the father of the Truro branch of this 
family; m. Phebe Paine ; dau. of Barnabas ; 2d, i794,Azubah Paine, d. 1817. I 
cannot give the order or date of his children. Jedediah m. Sarah Paine ; child- 
ren, Mary, m. Paul Atkins ; Joseph, m. Mercy Rich ; Hannah m. Elkanah Paine ; 
Jedediah m. Huldah Paine. 

Knowles. — Rev. John 2d, minister at Waltham, b. Lin- 
colnshire, educated at Magdalen Col., came to New England 
1639; returned 1650. Richard m. Ruth Bower at Plymouth, 
in command of a bark transporting military stores for govern- 
ment. At Eastham before 1653; is believed to be the son of 
Rev. John, and the ancestor of this large family on the Cape. 

Dau. Mercy m. Ephraim Doane, 1668. Son, Col. John, m. Apphiah Bangs, 
1670; slain Indian war, 1675. Samuel, b. 1651, m. Mercy Freeman, g. d. 
Governor Prince, 1609; was a man of affairs; d. 1737; had a large family; 
son, Col. Samuel, b. 1683, was a man of distinction and notoriety in military 
and civil life, d. in Boston, 1774, buried in Old Granary. Son Samuel, much in 
military life, led a company against Crown Point, 1756, in command against the 
French ; saw large service. 

John, 4 (Col. John, 3 Richard, 2 Rev. John, 1 ) b. 1673, son of Col. John and 

Apphiah Bangs, m. Mary , 1693, a large family of boys. Joshua, b. 1696; 

John, b. 1698, Seth b. 1700, Paul, b. 1702, James, b. 1704, Jesse, b. 1707, Mary, b. 
1709, Col. Willard b. 171 1 ; Paul b. 1702, m. Phebe Paine, 1723, and Joshua, b 
1797, were, as I understand, the heads of the two branches in Truro. 



GENEALOGY. 539 

Paul 5 (John, 4 Col. John, 3 Richard, 2 Rev. John, 1 ) b. 1702. Children, Ann.b. 1732, 
m. Uriah Rich, 1743. Phebe, b. 1725, m. Joseph Collins, 1743. Mary, b. 1725. 
Paul, b. 172S. John, b. 1730 ; Thomas, b. 1732 ; Hannah, b. 1734 ; Ruth, b. 1736, 
m. Elisha Turner, of Ct, 1756; James, b. 1737, d. young. Abigail, b. 1738; 
Silas, b. 1740. 

Joshua 5 (John, 4 Col. John, 3 Richard, 2 Rev. John, 1 ) b. 1696; son Joshua, 6 b. 

1730, m. Mary , d. 1779. Children : Mehitable, b. 1755, m. Ephraim 

Lombard, 1774; Joshua, b. 1756, m. Hannah Atkins. Nathaniel, b. 1758; Mar- 
tha, b. 1760; Rebecca, b. 1763, m. Solomon Lombard, 1786; Sarah, b. 1766. 

Joshua 7 (Joshua, 6 Joshua, 5 John, 4 Col. John, 3 Richard, 2 Rev. John- 1 ) b. 1756, 
m. Hannah, was a carpenter, d. 1822. Children: Josiah settled in Province- 
town ; Mary m. Dyer, settled in Maine Hannah m. Lemuel Hopkins. Joshua, 
b. 1788. Nathaniel, m. Sally Smith; John m. Anna Smith of Provincetown; 
2d Mrs Caroline Kenna of Boston. 

Joshua 8 (Joshua, 7 Joshua, 6 Joshua, 5 John, 4 Col. John, 3 Richard, 2 Rev. John, 1 ; 
b. 1788, d. Jan'y 17, 1S67, m. Mary Atkins Knowles, dau. Zaccheus and Sarah 
Lombard; who d. March 23, 1869. Children : 

i. Mary, b. 1813 ; m. Atkins Hopkins, he d. Dec, 1877. 

ii. Joshua, b. 1S15; m. Mrs. Thankful P. Hopkins, 

iii. Zaccheus, b. 1817 ; m. Betsey C. Gross; 2d Melissa Small; d. at 

Boston, July 21, 1881. 

iv, Sarah Ann, b. 1820; m. Matthias Rich. 

v. Maria, b. 1822 ; m. Nehemiah Somes Hopkins, 

vi. Caleb, b. 1S24 ; d. in infancy, 

vii. Delia Collins, b. 1826; m. Shebnah Rich, 

viii. John Atkins, b. 1828; m. Mary N. Hughes; d. July 3, 1853. 

ix. Betsey Lombard, b. 1831 ; m. Ephraim L. Snow ; d. July 5, i860. 

LOMBARD. 

Art thou a Lombard, my brother ? 

Happy art thou, she cried ; 
And smiled like Italy on him ; 

He dreamed in her face and died. 

The Lombards were an old race a thousand years ago. 
They were an ancient Germanic people of Sueric stock. Some 
of their writings claim the name derived from their habit of 
wearing long beards ; modern critics that it refers to the 
banks of the Elbe, where they first appeared in the time of 
Augustus. 

In the fifth century, they appeared in Hungary, where after 
a protracted war they annihilated their enemies, and under 
their king, Alboni, they crossed the Julian Alps, and in 568 
founded a powerful state in Northern Italy, known as Lorn- 



54o TRURO— CAPE COD. 

bardy. Part of the country is a descending plain from the 
Alps to the river Po, and is one of the richest and most pro- 
ductive countries in the world. After many successful kings, 
one of whom embraced Christianity, they were conquered in 
774 by Charlemagne. The Lombard cities, with Milan at 
the head, again became prosperous and powerful, and adopted 
Republican institutions ; and by the treaty of Constance in 
1 183, they became independent. In 1395, the head of a fam- 
ily became a duke, whose daughter married the Duke of 
Orleans. They passed under the French, Spanish and Aus- 
trian governments, by various successes and treaties, till con- 
quered by Napoleon in 1796. In the treaty of 1866 the whole 
of Lombardy was added to the dominions of Victor Emanuel. 

The name so prevalent in Europe and early in this country, 
undoubtedly sprang from this race. This was before the time 
of surnames ; and as they moved westward into other Euro- 
pean cities, they would naturally first be known as the Lom- 
bards, and as the tendency turned to surnames, they would 
first be called John the Lombard, then John Lombard. This 
is the well-known rise of surnames Three centuries ago the 
Lombards in Naples celebrated their third centenary. The 
head of an old banking-house in Geneva told the writer that 
his ancestor, a Protestant, was the first banker who closed the 
doors of his house on Sunday in Naples. The name is not 
uncommon in France. Lombard street is well known in 
Paris, and that in London is familiar as Picadilly. 

Mr. Freeman says : " The name has been variously written, 
and families of the same lineage now severally call themselves 
Lombard, Lumbard, Lambard, Lambert, Lumberc, and Lum- 
ber. Samuel Deane in History of Scituate, says : " Among 
the settlers of 1634, the second lot was assigned to Bernard 
Lombard. This lot was on Kent street, so called from " The 
men of Kent," who lived on this street. Bernard is again 
mentioned as "one of the men of Kent." It is also stated 
that Richard Lombard returned to Tenderton. These, with 
other intimations, render it quite certain that the Lombards 
came from Tenderton, Kent. 

Mr. John Lothrop, the minister of the church at Scituate, 



GENEALOGY. 541 

to whom his people were much devoted, though a devout and 
able man, seems to have had a good deal of party spirit and 
division in his church. It is understood the form of baptism 
became an issue in this and many of the early churches. In 
1639, Mr- Lothrop and his friends withdrew from the church 
at Scituate and removed to Barnstable and began the first set- 
tlement there. The old Scituate Church has been called an 
" Historic Monument." It was composed more than half of 
the South work Church, London ; gathered by Rev. Henry 
Jacob, in 16 16, which was the first Congregational Church 
established in England (excepting the Pilgrims). In 1634, 
they emigrated to America under the lead of Rev. John Loth- 
rop ; settled at Scituate ; shortly after thirteen members from 
Plymouth joined them. From Mr. Lothrop's records : 

Came to Scituate 1634. Bernard Lombard and his wife joined April 19, 1635. 
Joshua Lombard joined March 14, 1646, in Barnstable. Expressed in his confes- 
sion many sad temptations, God carrying him through for the space of eight years, 
repeating of many sweet Scriptures. Baptized Mary, dau. of Bernard Lombard, 
OctoberS, 1637. Since our coming to Barnstable, October n, 1639, bap. Martha, 
dau. of Bernard Lombard 2d, 1639, bap. Jabez, son of Bernard Lombard, July 4, 
i64t, bap. Jedediah, son of Thomas Lombard, September 9, 1643, Benj., brother 
Thomas, August 3, 1643, '652, Abigail, dau. of Joshua Lombard. Of their first 
meeting Mr. Lothrop says: " After praises to God in public were ended, as the 
day was cold, we divided into three companies to feast together, some at Mr. 
Hull's, some at Mr. May's, and some at Bro. Lombard's." Mr. Deane says, 
" Bernard had probably a brother Thomas in Barnstable." And another record, 
" Mr. Thomas Lombard was allowed to keep victualing or ordinary for the 
entertainment of strangers, and to draw wines in Barnstable." 

Richard Lombard appears among the first church members 
of Mr. Lothrop. These quotations show that there was at 
Barnstable during the first few years of the settlement, 
Richard, Bernard, Joshua and Thomas, some of whom had 
large families, and perhaps all. These were the ancestors of 
all the English race of Lombards in America. Through 
Thomas we trace the Truro branch. I, however, incline to 
the opinion that the family of the late Elisha Lombard of 
Truro belong to Joshua, whc m Sarah Parker of Barnstable ; 
am not positive ofifchis. Nor am I clear on the marriage ot 
Lewis 4 to Sarah Parker of Yarmouth, 1741. 



542 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Thomas, b. about 1610, in Tenterton, m. Joyce, early as 1630; dau. Margaret, 
m. Ed Coleman, 1648; will made 1663, mentions sons, Bernard, Caleb, Jedediah, 
Benjamin, Joshua, Joseph, d. 1671. Jedediah 2 (Thomas 1 ), b. 1641, m. Hannah 
Wing, 1667. Children: Jedediah, b. 166S, m. Hannah Lewis, b. 1676. Moved 
to Truro not later than 1699. From this marriage came the favorite christian 
family name of Lewis. Capt. Thomas, b. 1670, m. Mary Newcomb, 1694, dau. 
of Lieut. Andrew Newcomb of Edgertown: see Newcomb. 

Jedediah 3 (Jedediah 2 , Thomas 1 ), b. 1676, m. Hannah Lewis. Children. 

i. Solomon, b. 1702, Grad. H. C, 1723. 

ii. James, b. 1703. 

iii. Ebenezer, b. 1705, m. Bethiah Mayo, 1727. 

iv. Sarah, b. 1709, m. Michal Collins, 1733. 

v. Lewis, 4 b. 171 1, m. Sarah Parker of Yarmouth, i74i(?) 

vi. Ephraim, b. 17 16. 

vii. Hannah, b. 17 18. 

Mr. Freeman says Judge Solomon Lombard was the son of Bernard, b 
Barnstable, 1706. We have stated that from the evidence of his own family in 
the history of Gorham, he was b. at Truro, besides the dates almost confirm this 
statement. Solomon, s. of Bernard, was b. 1706, which makes him grad. H. C. 
at the age of 17, which is improbable, as connected with the facts. 

Lewis 4 (Jedediah, 3 Jedediah, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1711, m. Sarah Parker, 1741, son 
Lewis, 5 b. 1742, m. Elizabeth Pike, 1766. Children: 

i. Lewis, b. 1767, m. Elizabeth Lombard, 1797. 

ii. James, b. 1769, m. Hannah Snow, 1792, d. 1817 at New Orleans, 
iii. Elizabeth [Betsey] b. 1771, m. Capt. Joshua Paine, 2d, Capt. Caleb 
Knowles, 3d, Capt. Israel Lombard, 4th, Ephraim Doane Rich. 
iv. Anna, b. 1772, Capt. Jaazaniah Gross, 2d, William Bush, 3d, David 

Smith of Boston, 
v. * Sarah, b. 1774, m. Zaccheus Knowles, 2d, Capt. John Collins, d. i860, 
vi. Jane, b. 1785. 
vii. Hannah, b. 1819, m. Elisha Paine. 

3apt, Thomas 3 (Jedediah, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1670, m. Mary Newcomb, 1694. 
Children : 

i. John, b. 1694, m. Bethiah Harding, 1734. 

ii. Jedediah, b. 1696 m. Mary White, 1717 ; sons, Jediah, John, 

Simon, 

iii. Thomas, b. 1698, m. Elizabeth Binney, 1721. 

iv. William, b. 1699, m. Mary Gains. 1721, 2d, Hannah Green. 

v. Simon, b. 1701, d. before 1736. ^ 

vi. Hannah, b. 1703, m. Conant. ™ 

vii. Kezia, b. 1705, m. Job Conant, 1728. 



GENEALOGY. 543 

Thomas* (Capt. Thomas, 3 Jedediah, 2 Thomas'), b. 1695, in. Elizabeth Binney 
1721, son, Isaiah, b. 1746, m. Jemima Atkins, 1770. Children: 

i. Binney, b. 1771, d. 1792. 

ii. Jemima, b. 1773, not married, d. 1849. 

iii. Israel, Capt., b. 1776, m. Hannah Coan, 1800, d. 1820. 

iv. Elizabeth, b. 177S, m. Lewis Lombard, 1797, d. 182S. 

v. Ruth, b. 1780. m. Fish, Cohasset, 1780, d. 1846. 

vi. Rebecca, b. 17S3, m. John Ayers, 1783, d. 1852. 

vii. Thomas, b. 1786, m. Betsey Gross, 1813, d. 1S19. 

viii. Sally, b. 17S7, d. 1S13. 

ix. Joseph Atkins, b. 1792, d. 1809. 

Lewis. — George, a clothier, came from Greenock, Kent. 
First joined the Scituate Church 1635 ; Barnstable, 1640; m. 
in England, Sarah Jenkins, sister of Edward ; 2d, Mary ; large 
family. Son, Edward, 2 m. Hannah Cobb, daughter Elder 
Henry. Son, Eleazer, 3 b 1664; a quite distinguished family. 
Samuel,* b. 1799, at B., a local Methodist preacher, father 
of public schools in Ohio. Biography by son, Rev. G. W. 
Lewis 5 of Cincinnati. S. S. Prentis, of Mississippi, from this 
family. The Truro family have been quite numerous in North 
Truro, now mostly in Provincetown. Many sterling men and 
women have been numbered among them. 

Thomas, m. Deborah Griffinth ; children, Joanna, b, 1711, fane, perhaps 
others. John m. Elizabeth Mayo, 1716; children, Sarah, b. 1717 ; George, b. 
1720; Elizabeth, b. 1723; John, 1725. Benjamin m. Elizabeth ; children, Sarah, 
b. 1729; Lucy, b. 1731 ; Benjamin, b. 1733; Joseph, b. [735; Thomas, b. 1738; 
George, b. 1740; Moses, b. 1742; Joseph, b. 1744; Joshua, b. 1746; Eleazer, b. 
1748,111. Paine; Betty, b. 1750. 

Mayo. — Dr. Savage thinks Mayo or Mayhew the same, 
and remarks what all have discovered who have read old 
records, "That very little attention was paid in those times 
to orthography of proper names." We, however, incline to 
the opinion that in this case they are distinct names, and 
represent entirely different families. I fail to find any con- 
nection between Mayhew, the missionary, and Rev. John 
Mayo from whom, I understand, all the Mayos on the Cape 
descended. Though an Irish name he was born in Eng., grad. 
of an Eng. university. Was at Barnstable 1639; ordained 



544 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

a teaching elder ; moved to Nauset, 1646, had charge of the 
church there, though not a settled minister till 1655. Settled 
over the old North Cong, in Boston ; ord. Nov. 9, 1665. On 
account of age and infirmities, removed to Yarmouth in 1673 ; 
lived with his dau. Eliz. till his d. , 1676; buried in B. 
Preached the annual election sermon, June, 1658. 

Wife, Tamosin or Tamsin ; d. Yarmouth, 1682. His children were all b. 
Eng. Son John m. Hannah Lacrofl, 1651 ; had 8 sons; 6th son, Daniel, settled 
in Wellfleet; dau. Bethiah m. Ebenezer Lombard, 1727 ; Sarah, Jonathan Paine, 
1709; Margery, m. Dea. Moses Paine, 1720. All of Truro. The first Noah 
Mayo, father of the Truro family, came through Thomas, g. s. of Rev. John, 
as follows : — 

Noah* (Thomas, 3 John, 2 Rev. John 1 ), m. Mary Cushing, 1742-3, removed to 
Provincetown. Son Noah, b. 1743-4, bro't up in Truro, m. Hone Rich, 1764. 
Children : 

i. Noah, b. 1767; m. , moved to Harpswell, d. and buried in T., 

1809. 

ii. Nehemiah Doane, b. 1769, m. Malatiah Rich. 

iii. Thomas, b. 1772, m. Sabra Rich, 

iv. Mary, b. 1774, m. Zoheth Smith. 

v. John, b. 1776, m. Hannah Rich, 1798. 

vi. Jane, b. 1784, m. Moses Paine, 

vii. Samuel, b. 1787, m. Tirzah Wiley, 1810, of Wellfleet. 

The Provincetown branch came through another channel from the same 
head. 

Joshua Atkins 6 ( Thomas, 5 m. Bethiah Atkins, Truro, Jeremiah,* Daniel, 3 
John, 2 Rev. John ' ), went to P. when 12 years old, from Chatham; m. Martha 
Nickerson, 1779- 

i. Bethiah, b. 1782, m. Isaiah Nickerson, 1800. 

ii. Joshua Atkins, b. 1786, m. Betsey Small, 

iii. Thomas, b. 1789, d. 1808. 

iv. Joseph, b. 1792, m. Joanna Small, 1817; 2d Deborah Rich, 1824. 

v. Stephen Atwood, b. 1796, m. Jerusha Sawtelle, 1824. 

vi. Patty, b. 1798, m. Robert S. Miller, 1820, d. 1822. 

Isaac, son of Thomas, g. s. of Joseph, the Rev. soldier, m- Hannah Cahoon, 
•1780; removed from Boston to Provincetown, from thence to Brownville, Me., 
where he became a "devout and zealous " Methodist preacher, his sons, Allan, 
Reuben and Jacob raised very large families. 

Mulforu. Deacon Thomas was a prominent man in the 
early history of Truro. As the family is long since extinct, 



GENEALOGY. 545 

their history need not be traced. Mulford as a Christian 
name has always been popular in South Truro. There was a 
large family in Chatham. Joseph, now living in East Boston, 
represents the last of that branch. 

Newcomb : — My information of the Newcombs is taken 
mostly from a history of the family published in 1874, by 
John B. Newcomb, of Elgin, 111. The book contains 600 
pages, over 7000 names born Newcomb. The name is said 
to be of Saxon origin — combe, signifying a vale, a place 
between two hills. By Hallowell it is defined as "strangers 
newly arrived." They trace back to Hugh Newcome of Salt- 
flatby, Lincolnshire, where the family has been seated 700 
years, and is written Newcomen, Newcome and Newcomb. 
There are two families in New England. Francis Newcomb, 
ancestor of the Quincy branch, born in England, came to 
N. E. in the ship Planter 1635 ; lived three years in Boston, 
settled at Quincy, then Mt. Wollaston, died 1692, aged 8y. 

Capt. Andrew Newcomb appears to have been the pro- 
genitor of the largest branch, and of all on the Cape. Little 
is known of his early history. Probably from Devonshire. 
He is first mentioned in 1663, in Boston ; was at that time a 
mariner. He wrote his name both Newcomb and Newcombe. 
Will made 1683 in Boston, where he died 1686, leaving a mod- 
erate estate, mostly to his two daughters. 

Lieut. Andrew, born about 1640, is accepted as the son of 
Capt. Andrew. I think the proof is not established, but 
follow the history. The line is straight from Lieut. Andrew, 
who was a fisherman at Kittery, 1669, afterwards constable at 
the Isle of Shoals, where he complained of Mark Roe " for 
threatening to break his bones, tearing of his shyrt, and other 
uncivil behaviors." Settled at Edgartown, 1675, chosen Lieut. 
1691 ; was in command of a fortification ; was probably a mer- 
chant ; owned the land where the C. H. now stands. Twice 
married. Fifteen children. Sons, Simeon, Andrew, Simon 
and Thomas removed to East Harbor ; dau. Mary m. Capt. 
Thomas Lombard. Others came from Scituate ; were a large 
and active family ; owned large property at East Harbor, also 



54 6 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

at Pamet Point. Were enterprising, religious and patriotic; 
by marriage were connected with nearly all of Truro and Well- 
fleet. Their history is interesting and instructive. From the 
Kittery fisherman and Vineyard Lieut, have sprung a race 
numerous as the stars for multitude, in all the land. 

Paine or Payne — A name that carries the best scholars 
and critics of the age, whose family history is found in most 
all public libraries; would not feel flattered by a long notice, 
nor neglected by a short one in a local work of this character. 
From abundant material, I can select only such as directly 
touches the Truro branch, but refer with pleasure to the pub- 
lished records of the Paine Genealogy, by Josiah Paine, also 
the handsome volume of the Paine Genealogy, Ipswich branch, 
by Hon. A. W. Paine, who has ransacked Arian and Scandi- 
navian history from its genesis in Persia, through its exodus, 
proving the name of Norman origin. Henry D. Paine, M, D., 
of New York, publishes the Paine Family Records quarterly. 
The January, 1881, No. contains Paine of Doomsday, by Prof. 
T. O. Paine, LL.D., which is a translation of the Latin of, 
Doomsday Book, giving the names of all who owned land in 
1086, a survey by order of William the Conqueror. 

Payne was a Norman, first name not given, known only as 
Payne, real name Pagen, Latinized in Paganns (unbeliever), 
owned land in England before conquered by William. 

He owned land in fifteen counties, all of which touched each 
other. Through these "holdings" he could drive horse and 
hound, and could do business on his own land at four points 
on the ocean, which is shown by a map of " Payne's holdings " 
in England, a. d., 1041-86. Had son Edmund, known as "Son 
of Payne," and one dan. known as " Daughter of Payne." 

The original copy of Doomsday has recently been photo- 
incographed, and a copy in thirty-two thin volumes is owned 
by the Boston Public Library. An account of the Crusades 
and Hugh De Payne is cleverly told by A. W. Paine, showing 
the Crusader the progenitor of the Ipswich family. 

The Paines are honorably mentioned in Hornfield's History 
of Norfolk Connty, 13 13, from whence they trace their descent. 



GENEALOGY. 547 

Of these, Stephen, the first of that name, migrated to Kings- 
ton, Mass., 1635. Eleazer, fifth of that name, was a drummer 
boy in the Revolutionary War ; built his cabin on the site of 
the city of Painesville, O., 1793, giving it his name. Of the 
ancestry of Thomas of Eastham, founder of the Cape Cod fam- 
ily, little is known positively. Creditable traditionary accounts 
that were early committed to writing in several branches of 
the family, say that he came over with his father who bore the 
same name, when a lad about ten years of age, having lost the 
sight of an eye by an arrow. His father is supposed to be the 
Thomas of Yarmouth, the first deputy to the Old Colony ct. 
of Plymouth, from Yarmouth; took the freeman's oath that 
year ; was a resident of that town as late at 1650. We shall 
build on the foundation that Thomas of Eastham was the lad 
of about ten years, short of an eye by an arrow. He was con- 
stable in Eastham, 1655, freeman, 1658, m. Mary Snow, dau. 
of Nicholas, 1658. We have referred to him in the early his- 
tory of Truro as water bayle, etc. As the Irish say of a man 
with great versatility of talents, " He was a man of great 
parts." Representative, deputy, treasurer, superintendent of 
building the meeting-house, cooper and millwright, he seems 
to have been able to build a mill as easily as a barrel. He 
had a good education, was a splendid penman, a faculty that 
runs through all the generations. Retired from public service 
1697, in which he had been employed nearly half a century. 

Purchased a homestead at the South End, Boston, 1695, 
returned to Eastham where he died, 1706. Much has been 
said in praise of Mary Snow, the mother of the race. John 
Howard Payne, author of Home, szveet Home, the son of Wil- 
liam Paine, M. D., of Boston, who studied medicine with Gen. 
Joseph Warren, was of this family. Of eight sons and two 
daughters, all of whom made their mark, can mention only 
Elisha, twice married, twenty children ; John, also twice mar- 
ried, eighteen children ; then began sons and daughters to 
multiply ; James m. Bethiah Thatcher, dau. of Col. John ; he 
was cooper, miller, schoolmaster, clerk, etc. ; son Thomas, 
grad. H. C, a great mathematician, published almanacs, cal- 
culated the great eclipse of 1806; m. Eunice, dau. of Rev. 



548 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Samuel Treat ; was father of Robert Treat Paine. Our history, 
however, is particularly interested in son Thomas. Captain 
Thomas 3 (Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1657, m. 1st Hannah Shaw, 
of Plymouth, the mother of all the children, d. 1813, in Truro ; 
the first grave, as noticed ; m. 2d, Mrs. Eliz. Eares of Boston. 

Here lies ye body of 

Thomas Paine, Esq., 

of Truro, died January 23, 

1721, in ye 65 year 

of his age. 

In respect to titles he was known as " Capt. Thomas Paine 
Esq.," the "Tho: Paine, Town Clerk," that we have seen and 
referred to so frequently, also Selectman, Captain, Justice, 
Judge, C. P., Ct, Rep., etc. He owned the whole of Long- 
nook, beside other lands. His house stood a few rods E. of 
the house of Esquire Dyer, near a never-failing spring of pure 
water. Children : 

i. Hannah, b. 1679, d. 1681. 

ii. Hugh, b. 1680, d. 16S1. 

iii. Thomas, b. 16S2, m. Thankful Cobb. 

iv. Hannah, b. 1684, m. John Binney of Hull, d. there 1757 ; the numer- 
ous family of this name are the descendants, 

v. Jonathan, b. 16S6, ui. Sarah Mayo, 1709, d. 1718. 

vi. Abigail, b. 16S7, d. 1689. 

vii. Abigail, b. 1689, m. Ebenezer White, 171 1. 

viii. Phebe, b. 1691, d. 1696. 

ix. Elkanah, b. 1693, m. Reliance Young, 1717. 

x. Moses, b. 1695, m - Margery or Margaret Mayo of Y., 1720. 

xi. Joshua, b. 1697, m. 1st Rebecca Sparrow, 1720. 

xii. Phebe, b. 1699, m. Paul Knowles, 1722. 

xiii. Lydia, b. 1700, m. Josiah Hinckley, 1720. 

xiv. Barnabas, b. 1705, m. Mary Purington, 1724. 

Barnabas was probably the only one born at Truro, but 
most of the family seem to have moved with their father, and 
from these familiar names came a host of sons and daughters, 
who have intermarried with every family in Truro, and which 
to trace would require years of labor. In this as in several 
other large families, although we had prepared a quite extended 



GENEALOGY. 549 

connection, we have been obliged, particularly in families that 
branch out extensively, to be satisfied with publishing a his- 
tory of the origin and the principal branches. 

Maj. Thomas* (Capt. Thomas 3 , Thomas 2 , Thomas 1 ), b. 1682. 
m. Thankful Cobb ; was 18 years old when he moved to Pamet, 
when he was appointed by the proprietors as agent to buy 
lands of the Indians. He was identified with the growth ot 
the town ; filled all offices in her gift. In youth, manhood and 
ripe age he was a faithful servant, a willing burden-bearer, and 
an honored citizen. Son Thomas m. Mary Vickerie. 

Here lies interred the body of 
Major Thomas Paine Esq., 

One of the Elders of 

The Church of Christ in Truro, 

Departed this life, 

April 15, 1745, 

in the 64th year of his age. 

Mrs. Thankful Paine, 

widow of 

Major Thomas Paine, Esq., 

died April 7, 1771, 

In the 74th year of her age. 

Lieut. Jonathan* (Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1686, m. 

1 st, Sarah Mayo, d. 171 8, 2d. Mary , d. 1760. I think the 

ancestor of all the Paines now in Truro except the Elkanah 
branch. He was prominent in town affairs ; inherited most 
the land owned by his father at Longnook. It was an infirmity 
of this family never to sell land ; it continued largely in the 
hands of the descendants for many generations, and to this day 
considerable of the land bought by Thomas Paine, of one eye, 
of the Indians, 1670, is still the Paine property. His house has 
been mentioned as now belonging to John Atkins. Of seven 
children I will mention Jonathan, Daniel and Hannah, the last 
b. 1714, m. Anthony Snow, 173 1. 

Elkanah 4 (Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1693, m. Reliance Young; set- 
tled at East Harbor, and as may be inferred from the names, was the father of 
the North Truro branch. Children; 



55° TRURO — CAPE COD. 

i. EH.iha, b. 1721, m. Thankful Hopkins. 

ii. Elkanah, b. 1724, m. Mary Rich, 

iii. Phineas, b. 1727, m. Mary, 

iv. Sarah, b. 1730, m. Lewis Lombard. 

v. Joshua, b. 1732. 

Deacon Moses 4 (Thomas/ Thomas, 2 Thomas'), b. 1697, 
m. Margery Mayo, g. d. Rev. John. The thoughtful 
boy that kept a diary while working with his uncle John in 
Eastham. He was of a religious as well as meditative turn 
of mind, and, like old Bishop Jeremy Taylor, loved to indulge 
interjectional expressions, as, "Feb. 4, 1 719. This day my 
brother Jonathan Paine's wife died. O Lord, sanctify thy 
holy hand to all concerned therein." "Jan. 13, 1718. This 
evening the church elected Lieut. Constant Freeman and 
John Snow. The Lord prepare them suitably therefor." " Dec. 
4, 1 7 16. This day we went over to the Back Side, and Thomas 
Smith's whaleboat was dashed to pieces by a whale." This 
diary was continued several years and is a valuable compen- 
dium of the experience and education of a youth trained in a 
family of fourteen children on Cape Cod 150 years ago. Dea- 
con Paine was a useful man ; many years town clerk ; served 
well his day and generation. Of twelve children eleven were 
daughters. Abigail m. Barnabas Higgins, Margery m. 
Andrew Collins ; Hannah m. Israel Gross, 2d wife ; Hannah 
m. Lombard. 

Joshua* (Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1697, m. 1st 
Rebecca Sparrow, 1720; 2d, Mrs. Constance Baker, Canter- 
bury, Ct, 1737. Settled in Amenia, N. Y.; was a blacksmith. 
Children mostly born in Truro ; a noted family. Three sons 
physicians ; Ephraim, judge, member of Provincial Congress ; 
one a schoolmaster. Dr. Barnabas left a manuscript gene- 
alogy of the family. This branch is still liberally represented 
in the professions in New York and Vermont. Elisha and 
Solomon were quite distinguished preachers in Connecticut: 
were sons of Elisha, b. 1721. 

Barnabas 4 (Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas'), b. in Truro, 1705, 
m. Mary Purington, prominent in the church, a long time 



GENEALOGY. 551 

town clerk. Furnished his nephew, Dr. Barnabas of Amenia, 
N. Y., a genealogical history of the family, d. 1768. Children : 

i. Elizabeth, b. 1725, m. Ambrose Snow, 1747. 

ii. Barnabas, b. 1727, m. Hannah Vickery, d. 1757, a prisoner in 

England, 

iii. Mercy, b. 1729, m. Matthias Rich, the first Mercy Paine and Mercy 

Rich of a long line, that still continue. 
iv. Mary, b. 1 731, m. Samuel Lombard, 1751. 

v. Joshua, b. 1734. 

vi. Ruth, b. 1736, m. Ebenezer Rich, 1754. 

vii. Phebe, b. 1738, m. Jedediah Iliggins. 

viii. Jerusha, b. 1740, d. same year, 

ix. Jemima, b. 1743. 

x. Joseph, b. 1745, m. Rebeeca , 1766. 

xi. Hannah, b. 1746. 

Jonathan 5 (Jonathan, 4 Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1 7 1 1 , 
m. Hannah Lombard, 1739. Inherited his father's estate ; 
was the owner of the slaves Joe, Hector, and Pomp. Was a 
man of substance. Took an active part in the town, etc. 
Children : 

i. Jedediah b. 1740. 

ii. Jonathan, b. 1744, d. at Halifax a prisoner of war, 1778. 

iii. Hannah, b. 1747. 

iv. John, b. 1749, settled at Gorham, Me. Numerous family. 

v. Ebenezer, b. 1752, m. Abigail Paine. 

vi. Solomon, b. 1754, soldier of the Rev. d. at New York, 1776. 

vii. Richard, b. 1756, soldier of the Rev. d. at home army sickness, 1777. 

Daniel 5 (Jonathan, 4 Thomas, 3 Thomas, 2 Thomas 1 ), b. 1716, 
m. Elizabeth Thatcher. Children : 

i. Thatcher, b. 1742, m. Huldah. 

ii. Sarah, b. 1746, m. Jedediah Iliggins. 

iii. Daniel, b. 1748, m. Kezia Orcutt. 1777. 

iv. Huldah, b. 1750, m, Jonathan Harding, 

v. Betty, b. 1753, m. Eleazer Lewis, the father of Mrs. Damon. 

vi. Thomas, b. 1756, d. young, 

vii. Barnabas, b. 1758, m. Martha Atkins, a large family. 

Pike. — A wide-spread English name. I am not familiar 
with its history. Leonard was quite early in Truro. About 
1723, m. Ann Snow; had seven children. George, b. 1724, 



552 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

m. Elizabeth Lombard; John, b. 1728, m. Mary Collins, 2d 
Hannah Lombard ; were also sons Leonard and Elisha. 
Ann m. Barnabas Young of Eastham. Another Ann m. 
Solomon Lombard, were cov. owners 1725. I cannot well 
connect the family. John, b. 1757, was a brother of Eliz., m. 
Lewis Lombard. Son Leonard, and wife Deliverance, both d. 
about the same time, 1799, leaving Elisha, lost at sea, 18 18, 
and twin daughters. Delia m. Matthias Rich, and Mercy m. 
Isaac Rich. John, one of the old men who hoisted the flag 
in 1 861, was a brotherof Leonard, and the last of the male name 
in Truro, which by marriage is largely connected. 

Purington. — Deacon Hezekiah came from Dover Point to 
Truro, 1604; was an active man ; a ruling elder. Dea. Moses 
Paine mentions in his diary, January 8, 1717, "This morning 
Deacon Hezekiah Purington departed this life. The Lord 
sanctify such an awful dispensation of Providence to us all." 
Age 42. By the marriage of Humphrey Purington to Thank- 
ful Harding, 1724; Mary, to Deacon Barnabas Paine, 1729; 
Sarah, to Solomon Lombard, 1725 ; and Mercy, to Nathaniel 
Harding, 1730, not a small proportion of Truro families 
share in this name and blood. The land where the church 
stood at Dover Point is now owned by A. D. Purington. A 
monument has been proposed for the spot. 

Rich. — As is generally known in the family, John Fairfield 
Rich, a brilliant and scholarly young man of Ware, son of 
Samuel S., of Portland, of Truro origin, undertook to publish 
the history of the Rich family. To facilitate and insure this 
undertaking he called a family meeting at Truro, June 27-8, 
1872. Though imperfect in details, a large company gathered 
from most every part of the country, and a successful family 
gathering full of bright promise for the future, such as never 
before or since met on the lower part of the Cape, was the 
result. Mr. Rich made a statement of the advanced condition 
of his work, of its early issue, and secured a large number of 
subscribers at five dollars a copy, mostly paid in advance. 
September following he died. A committee was appointed to 



GENEALOGY. 553 

confer with his family referring to the manuscript, and to 
examine the same. The committee reported that the work 
was not sufficiently advanced to warrant publishing which 
ended the cherished hopes of the family and friends of this 
enterprise. I make this brief statement as much inquiry 
has been made and much interest expressed since I undertook 
the publication of this work. 

Mr. Rich promised a history of the Rich Family in six 
hundred pages, I must content myself to do the same in as 
near six as possible. English history abounds with this name. 
The earliest notice I have seen is Edmund, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, 1236, referring to an order requiring all fonts to 
be covered in accordance with a constitution by said arch- 
bishop. One of the most remarkable characters of English 
history is Baron Richard Rich, b. London, 1498, who from a 
London barrister, without fortune or friends, became the 
wealthiest nobleman, and founded the most powerful family in 
England, and known as kingmakers. His sons, Earls of War- 
wick and Holland, have been mentioned in the colonization of 
America. The former was president of the Plymouth Council, 
and Admiral of England. Warwick, R. I., was named for him. 
The name is found among authors, actors, scholars, ministers, 
soldiers, travellers, inventors and courtiers ; men of many 
virtues and not a few vices. 

My first knowledge of the name in America occurs in the 
following Salem notice : " Obadiah Rich married Bethiah 
Williams, 1667." In 1668 he was a signer of the petition 
against imports as an inhabitant of Salem. In Judge Sewell's 
interleaved almanac diary, March 31, 1675, occurs: "No lec- 
ture, because Mr. Rich from home." Perhaps the same Oba- 
diah. In 1678, his widow Bethiah administrated on a large 
estate. In 1684, Henry Rich m. Martha Panon. This is the 
celebrated Martha Corey, alias Martha Rich immortalized by 
Longfellow : 

As for my wife, my Martha, and my martyr, 
Whose virtue, like the stars, unseen by day, 
Though numberless, do but await the dark 
To manifest themselves unto all eyes. 



554 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

She who first won me from my evil ways, , 

And taught me how to live by her example. 
By her example teaches me to die, 
And leads me onward to the better life. 

The following from the Salem records, throw light on this 
subject : 

June 27, 1723. Petition of Thomas Rich of Salem, only surviving child of 
Martha Corey, alias Martha Rich deceased, praying the compassionate consid- 
eration and commiseration of the court for great losses to petitioner in the 
year 1692, enumerated. 

Fifty pounds was allowed to petitioner for goods deprived, mentioned, by 
illegal action of the sheriff and officers respecting the persons charged as 
witches. Martha Corey alias Martha Rich, one of the victims of the witchcraft 
delusion. 

January 29, 1723. The committee reported that in consideration of the loss 
the petitioner might sustain by being deprived of the goods mentioned in the 
petition, together with the many illegal actions of the sheriff and his officers 
respecting the persons charged as witches, they are hereby of the opinion that 
the sum of fifty pounds be allowed and paid out of the public treasury to the 
petitioner, Thomas Rich, which was done. 

Richard, of Dover Neck, is the ancestor of all the Cape 
Cod family, by far the largest branch, but not all of the old 
English stock in America. The first notice of Richard is 
found in the old Portsmouth records. " Samuel Treworgey, 
with the consent of Dorcas Treworgey (Cornish names), his 
wife, conveys the above land to Richard Rich of Dover, Nov. 
6, 1674." How long he had then been at Dover I am unable 
to say. " Philip Demon of Dover Neck, d. June, 1676 ; by 
will, May 1676, makes son Evans and Richard Rich, my kins- 
man, executors." Mr. Rich seems to have been a man of 
some prominence ; his name appears considerably in the 
records. Married Sarah, dau. of Gov. Thomas Roberts. 

Son Richard 2 first appears at Eastham 1665, taxed 1671 ; freeman, Aug. 23, 
1681, d. 1692. Children: 

i. John, 3 b. 1665, m - Mary, dau. Rev. Samuel Tieat. 
Thomas, 3 m. dau. of Saml. Knowles, settled in Eastham, now Orleans 

landholder, 1702. 



GENEALOGY. 555 

iii. Richard, 3 b. 1674, m - Anne, h. 1680, in E., held lots in Truro, 1703, 

moved few years later. 
iv. Samuel, 3 b. 1684, m. Elizabeth ; was tything-man in Truro 171 1, 

d. 1752. 
v. Sarah 3 m. Samuel Treat, son or g. s. of Rev. Samuel, 1741. 
vi. Lydia. 3 
vii. Joseph, 3 among the Eastham voters 1695. 



The majority of this family settled in Truro ; though not the 
first in town, they early became the most populous, and in a 
representative sense, more particularly local than any other in 
the country. Comparatively few of the name are found who 
did not originate here. From 1720 to 1780 the name increased 
rapidly, became by intermarriage, and duplicating christian 
names, greatly involved and interwoven, so that it is almost 
impossible to locate the family lines, or trace the lineal 
branches, without making a complete family history. In '75 
there was Richard 4th, and in '98 there were five householders 
Richard, besides juniors and bachelors. Obadiah, John, 
Samuel, Benj., Joseph and Isaac are some of the other oft- 
repeated names. I make this explanation as an apology, 
especially to several gentlemen of this family at Boston and 
New York, subscribers to this work ; though they never saw 
Truro, have shown a historic appreciation complimentary to 
the old town as the home of their ancestors, Richard's family 
seem to be the best defined. Thomas was a surveyor in 172 r , 
and John m. Lydia Collins, 1727. Samuel was a tything-man 
•n 171 1 ; it is said had 24 children. 



Richard 3 (Richard, 2 Richard x ),b. 1674, and wife Anna were baptized as adults 
y Mr. Avery in Truro, 1726. Children: 

i. Sarah, b. 1696. 

ii. Richard, b. 1099, m. Hannah , Feb'y 26, 1725, by Mr- Avery 

iii. Rebecca, b. 1701. 

iv. Zaccheus, b. 1704, m. Ruth Collins, 1727. 

v. Obadiah,* b. 1707, m. Polly Cobb. 

vi. Priscilla, b. 17 10, d. young, 

vii. Iluldah, b. 1712. 

viii. Joseph, b. 1720, m. Susannah Collins, 1742. 

ix. Sylvanus, b. 1720, in. Mary Lombard, 1740. 



5 56 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

Inscription on gravestones in the old churchyard : 

Here lies buried 

the body of 

Mr. Richard Rich, 

who died May ye 3d, 

1743, in ye 
69th year of his age. 

Here lies the body of 

Mrs. Anna Rich, 

wife to Mr. Richard Rich, 

who died May ye 11, 1754. 

iEt. 74- 

Richard 4 (Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard '), m. Hannah, 1726. Children : 

i. Josiah, b. 1721, m. Ann Knowles. 

ii. Uriah, b. 1723. 

iii. Matthias, b. 1725, m. Mercy Paine, 1751, 2d. Kezia Orcott, d. 1792. 

iv. Hannah, b. 1729, m. Samuel Rider of P., 1746. 

v. Obadiah, b. 1730, m. Ruth Dyer, 1756. 

vi. Peggy, b. 1733. 

vii. Richard, b. 1740, I think Capt. Richard (Buzzy Dick). 

Matthias 5 (Richard, 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), m. Mercy Paine, 1751, 
dau. of Barnabas, d. 1758, 2d. Mrs. Kezia Orcutt. Children : 

i. Joshua, b. 1752,01. Mary (Molly) Dyer, April, 1775, bap. June, 1775. 
ii. Mercy, b. 1754,01. Jonathan Collins, 
iii. Matthias (Beau Flash), b. 1756, lived in Boston, d. at Baltimore 

about 1S10. 
iv. Margarette (Peggy), b. 1758, m. Wm. Tufts of Boston, where she d. 
about 1835. t sea - 

v. David, I , „ q ( b. 1764, m. Nabby Cook of Provincetown, lost at 
vi. Sally, ) ° ' ' | b. 1769, m. Jeremiah Gooding. 

Joshua 6 (Matthias, 5 Richard, 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), m. Molly Dyer. 
Children: 

i. Joshua, b. 1776, lost on passage from Liverpool to Boston, 1799. 
ii. Mercy, b. 1777, m Joseph Higgins, d. 1855. 
iii. Mary (Polly), b. 1779, m. Capt. Ephraim Snow, moved to Cohasset, 

d. there, 
iv. Shebnah, b. 1782, m. Belinda Higgins of Wellfleet, Dec. 1808, d. Oct. 

29, 1843. 
V. Hannah Dyer, b. 1784, m. Joshua Atwood of Wellfleet, d. Brooklyn, 
N. Y. f about 1866. 



GENEALOGY. 557 

vi. Sarah Dyer, b. 17S6, m. Francis Pascal, 2d Jedediah Dyer, d. 1849. 
vii. Thankful, b. 17S8, m. John Gill of Wellfleer, 2d Isaac Smith of 

Provincetown, d. P., 1830. 
viii. Matthias, b. 1791, m. Delia Pike, 1814, d. March, 21, 1864. 
ix. Rebecca, b. 1796, m. Elijah Dyer, for many years keeper of Race 

Point lighthouse, d. at Provincetown, 1S47. The only living of 

this family is Mrs. Delia Rich. 

Shebnah 7 (Joshua, 6 Matthias, 5 Richard, 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard '). rn. 
Belinda Higgins, Dec. 10 1807, dau. Capt. Eleazer and Laurania (Gross) b. 
August 2, 17S8, at Wellfleet, d. Nov. 27, 1878. Children : 

i. Charles Higgins, b. Feb., 1809, m. Eliza Carpenter, 1838, Strafford, 

Vt , d. Boston, July, 1863. Son, Rev. Charles E. of Cal. 
ii. Adeline, b. Feb. 181 1, m. Joshua Smith, 1830, d. March, 1866. He 

d. 1S41. 
iii. Eleazer Higgins, b. Sept. 1813, m. Mercy Collins, Provincetown, 

T836, d. March 12, 1875. 
iv. Abigail Harding, b. Sept., 1S15, m. Daniel P. Higgins, 1836. 
v. Belinda, b. Sept. 1819, m. Isaiah Snow, Dec. 1840, 2d James C. 
Lambord, June, 1845. Isaiah Snow, d. Oct. gale, 1841, James 
C. Lambord, d. 1879. 
vi. Maria Atkins, b. July 19, 1821. 

vii. Shebnah, b. Aug. 7, 1824, m. Delia C. Knowles, Dec. 19 1847. 
viii. Elizabeth, b. Dec, 1828, m. Josiah Snow, Provincetown, d. July, 1857. 

Shebnah 8 (Shebnah, 7 Joshua, 6 Matthias, 5 Richard, 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Rich- 
ard 1 )- Children : 

i. Eliza Evelyn, b. Boston, Oct. 11, 1848. 
ii. Delia Collins, b. Boston, Jan. 24, 1851. 
iii. Irving Hale, b. Boston, May 22, 1853, m. Sept. 1878, Mrs. Mary W. 

Lewis, St. Louis, 
iv. William Arthur, b. Boston, July 11, 1856. 
v. Albert Smith, b. Boston, May 10, 1859, d. St. Louis, May, 23, 1862. 

Zaccheus 4 (Richard 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. 1704, m. Ruth Collins, was the 
father of a wonderful posterity. He settled at the extreme south part of the 
town. Some say that he and his brother Obadiah settled on Beach Hill ; had 
eleven children; Ann, 5 Sarah, 5 Zaccheus, 5 m. Rebecca Collins or Harding, 1753. 
[esse 5 m. Hannah Smith, 1757; Benjamin 5 b. 1737, m. Mrs. Lucy Somes. Son, 
Capt. Benj. 6 of Boston ; dau. Huldah m. Richard Baker ; Hannah m. Capt. John 
Rich ; Nehemiah settled in Maine, I think. Thatcher, 5 b. 1739, m. Jane Lombard. 
Son Thatcher, 6 b. 1770, m. Hope Smith, 1797. Richard, 5 b. 1741. Son Richard 6 
(Uncle Hunn), dau. Mehitable m. Jonah Atkins, 1795. Ephraim, 5 b. 1746. Sons 
Mulford, 6 and Ephraim, 6 Elisha, 5 b. 1758, Priscilla. s I am not positive that Rich- 
ard, 6 b. 1741, is not " Uncle Hunn," instead of son Richard. 6 



558 TRURO — CAPE COD. 

Thatcher 6 (Thatcher, s Zaccheus. 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard '), b. 1770, m. 
Hope Smith, 1797. Children: Thatcher, Daniel, Richard, Zaccheus, Zoheth, 
Benjamin, Betsey, m. Thomas Rich; Susan, m. Richard Cobb; Hope, m. Sam- 
uel Rich. 

Richard 5 ( 4 (?) Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard ') b. 1741, m. Rebecca Lom- 
bard (?), 1761. Children: John, 6 b. 1763, m. Hannah Rich, dau. Benjamin. 5 
Sons, Capts. Richard, Abram, and Joseph of Hallowell, Me., dau. Lucy. 2d Sarah 

Hatch. Children: Lombard, Michael, Jacob, Nehemiah, Hannah and . 

Richard Sears, 6 b. 1766, m. Mary Rich, dau. Jesse. Sons, Captain Sears and 
Thomas Smith. Peter, 6 b. 1763; Thomas, 6 b. 1770. Sons, Thomas, Samuel; 
dau. Rebecca, 6 b. 1773; Samuel, 6 1775; Reuben, 6 b. 1777; Ephraim Doane, 6 b. 
1782. Sons, Atwood, Capts. Ephraim Doane, Richard, Eleazer and Zenns. 

Samuel 3 (Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. 1684, m. Elizabeth. 2d Bethiah. It is said 
had 24 children. I find 11 only. Jerusha, 4 m. Lieut. Hugh Paine, Deliverance, 4 
m. Jonathan Collins; Dinah, 4 m. George Lewis; Mary, 4 m, Elkanah Paine; 
Bethiah, 4 m. Nicholas Sparks of P. ; Rachel, 4 m. Jonah Stevens ; Dea. Ebenezer, 4 
m. Ruth Paine, moved to Enfield with brother John 4 ; Apollos, 4 m Abigail Col- 
lins, moved to Ware. Son Elkanah, 5 g. s. Apollos, 6 m. Bethiah Banister. Sons 
Lyman, 7 and Henry, 7 of Hyde Park, Dwight B. 7 , of Boston ; dau. Martha, 7 m. 
Amasa Brown of Mayflower line ; son, Wm. F. 8 , the Boston Printer. Aquila, 4 
m. Ruth Avery. Sons, Obadiah, 5 and Aquila, 5 through whom, I think, came 
Obadiah, 6 of Woburn, and sons Obadiab, 7 of Boston, and Aquilla, 7 of New York, 
bat there are so many Obadiahs, I am not clear. Three of the sisters moved to 
Enfield. Obadiah Rich, the great American bibliographer and antiquarian, was 
b. Truro ; I am not able to connect his family or birth. Was elected member of 
the Mass. His. Soc. March 5, 1805, whom the Soc. mentions as "our great bib- 
liographer." He is also mentioned "As a critic of high authority, has borne off 
rich spoils from those dark and dusty repositories of antiquarian lore." Wash- 
ington Irving acknowledges his valuable and genial cooperation at Madrid, and 
Longfellow compliments him for wonderful accomplishments and distinguished 
services. His name appears probably in more libraries than any other Ameri- 
can scholar ; d. London. O. Rich was commander of brig Intrepid, 4 guns, 1787. 

Obadiah 4 (Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. 1707, m. Polly Cobb. Children, 
Jonathan, 5 m. Thankful Newcomb; Deborah, 5 b. 1739; Joseph, 5 b. 1741; Rebecca, 5 
b. 1743; Ruth, 5 b. 1745; David, 5 b. 1753; Isaac, 5 b. 1756, settled on Great 
Island, Me. Large family. Sons, David, 6 Zoheth, 6 Isaac, 6 ; all large families. 
Reuben 6 settled in W. Bath, Me.; David, 6 b. 1753; dau. Betsey, m. Micah 
Talbot, of Machias, Me., mother of Rev. M. J. Talbot, of N. E. S. Con., and 
Mrs. B. J. Pope, of Boston. I think Revs. A. J., of Hyde Park, and J. A. L., of 
N. E. Con. are of this family. 

Ephraim 6 (Ephraim, 5 Zaccheus, 4 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard ') Children : 
Samuel Brown, 7 m. Bicknell, son, Abner Bicknell, 8 of Provincetown, Ephraim." 
Hannah, 7 Benjamin, 7 Chloe, 7 David, 7 



GENEALOGY. 



559 



Mulford Treat 6 (Ephraim, 5 Zaccheus, 4 Richard 3 , Richard, 2 Richard 1 ). Chil- 
dren, Zephaniah, 7 (sons Capt. Lyman B. 8 , Hiram) Mulford, 7 of Wellfleet, Joshua, 7 
Ruth, 7 Betsey, 7 Jerusha, 7 m. James Grove. 

Capt. Napthali 7 ( son of James 6 ), b. about 1800, m. Anna Rich, dau. Capt. 
Reuben. Son Napthali, 8 of South Boston. 

Lemuel 5 . Sons Ezekiel, 6 b. 1738; Lemuel, 6 b. 1740; Zephaniah, 6 1746; 
James, 6 1748, and daughters; moved to Gorham, Me., with sons Ezekiel, 7 and 
Lemuel, 7 ancestor of all that family in Me. ; all large families. Also Ezekiel 
moved to N. H.; son Henry Holmes, m. Mary Atkins of Truro; bro. Timothy 
moved to Medford, son Edward Ruggles S. Boston; Esquire Solomon to 
Provincetown. 

Nathaniel 6 ( Obadiah, s Josiah, 1 Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. m. Mar- 
tha Atkins. Children : Nehemiah, 7 Atkins, 7 m. Susan Mayo. William 7 (son3, 
Napthali, 8 Boston Highlands, Atkins, s of Cambridge), Henry, 7 Polly, 7 Deborah, 7 
m. Joseph Mayo of Provincetown ; Peggy, 7 m. Nath. Pierce. Other descend- 
ants of Obadiah are Joseph, Jonathan, Isaac, all of whom had large families, 
which I cannot well trace. 

Isaac, 6 b. about 1760, sons, Theophilus, 7 Isaac, 7 m. Mercy Pike; Samuel 7 m. 
Polly Rich, and Seth, 7 sons Seth 8 and Elisha Demondrel. 

Samuel 6 ( James, s b. 1748, Joseph, 4 b. 1720, Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. 
1780. Son Samuel, 7 b. 1807, of Provincetown, m. Polly Gross, dau. Alexander. 

Captain Richard 3 (Buzzy Dick) (Richard, 4 b. 1699, Richard, 3 Richard, 2 Rich- 
ard 1 ), b. 1740, m. Betty (Betsey) Snow (?) about 1764. Chil.: Richard b. 1765, lost 
at sea; Phebe b. 1667, m. Silas Knowles, 1787 ; Zuruiah, b. 1769; Snow, b. 1771, 
lost at sea ; Hannah, b. 1773 ; Capts. Obadiah, b. 1775 ; Heman Smith, b. 1777 ; 
Doan, 1779; Ruth m. Shaw; Mary m. John Cassell ; perhaps Betsey m. Thomas 
Williams ; am not certain of order or dates or number. 

Dea. John 3 (Richard, 2 Richard 1 ), b. 1665, m. Mary, dau. Rev. Samuel Treat, 
to whom have referred in history of Isaac Rich, is the ancestor principally of 
the Wellfleet branch. Chil : Mary, b. 1701 ; Robert, b. 1703 ; John J., b. 1705 ; 
Reuben, b. 1707, d. 1714; Joshua, b. 1710; Moses, b. 1712; Reuben and Thankful, 
twins, b. 1 7 1 5 ; Sarah, 1720, m. Isaac Baker. Through these descended a 
numerous race. Hope, dau. of John and Thankful, b. 1742, m. Col. Elisha 
Doane of Wellfleet, a woman of vigorous mind. Mr. Pratt says, "strong and 
benevolent." Col. Doane left ;£i 20,000 sterling, was the richest man in Mass. 
2d Hope m. Dr. Samuel Savage ; 3d Hope m. Chief Justice Shaw. 

Capt. Robert Rich, b. 1762, d. at Charlestown, aged 96 years ; was among the 
first who established the market fishing trade in Boston ; was highly esteemed. 
Many of his descendants are now engaged in the business he began one hun- 



560 TRiJRO—CAPE COD. 

dred years ago. His large posterity revere the name of Robert Rich. Son 
Samuel has sons Joseph Smith, m. Hannah M. of Truro, and Samuel, both of 
Charlestown, a member of the famous 3d. Mass. Battery, escaped unharmed from 
28 fights, in which one half the Co. were left behind. 

Rider. — Samuel has always been a leading name in this 
family ; was a candidate for freeman at Yarmouth, 1639. His 
name appears 1643 as one of the persons in town liable to 
bear arms. In 1653 Sergeant Rider and John Gorham were 
deputies to meet others from the several towns " to treat and 
conclude on military affairs." The name is considerably scat- 
tered among the Cape towns, most, perhaps, in Chatham ; a 
good many in Wellfleet, and a prominent family in Province- 
town. The few families in Truro have come from both Well- 
fleet and Provincetown. As early as 1724, Mr. Avery mar- 
ried " Samuel Rider and Experience Atwood, both of Cape 
Cod." The first Samuel, of Truro, b. 1 75 1, m. Martha Cobb, 
d. 181 5, was undoubtedly a son of Samuel and Experience ; 
had sister Huldah, m. 1768, perhaps other brothers and 
sisters. Children : 

Hannah, m. Elisha Collins; Eliz. m. John Laha ; Capt. Samuel, b. 1779, m. 
Olive Ayers, 1812; Obadiah, d. at sea; Martha, d. 1849; Sally, m. Ephraim 
Snow ; Huldah, m. William White, d. 1825. 

Captain Rider was in early life an accomplished shipmaster. 
His ship Liverpool Packet, 410 tons, was too large. He 
wrote from Alexandria, Va., " that he could do better if his 
ship was not so large." Was many years an honorable and 
popular merchant at Truro ; spent his later years with his 
sons Captain Samuel and Alfred in Griggsville, 111. ; d. there 
1856, his wife, 1871. Children: Alfred, many years a mer- 
chant in Griggsville, now makes his home in California. 
Captain Samuel was a carpenter in Truro, went West in 1837, 
built the first boat to navigate the Illinois River by mule power, 
afterwards modelled and built the famous Illinois River boats, 
Seminole and Prairie State. He was thirty vears in the 
steamboat business, commanding and managing the largest 
boats on the Western rivers ; passed safely through chol- 
era, collisions, explosions and rebel batteries. Brought up 



GENEALOGY. 561 

the Empress, 800 wounded and sick soldiers, from the field of 
Shiloh. Was at Vicksburg when Pemberton surrendered to 
Grant. As a steamboat commander, he had no superior ; as 
a man, he was above reproach. Captain Gould, of St. Louis, 
for many years his associate, says, " I never knew Captain 
1 Rider to utter an oath or an unkind word." I knew him 
intimately for many years, and sometimes met him daily on 
the Merchants' Exchange in St. Louis, and can testify to his 
high character. A man that can pass thirty years on our 
Western rivers free from the stain of vice, dishonor, or mean- 
ness, must be pure-hearted, clean-handed, and noble-minded. 
Capt. R. died at Greggsville, Aug., 1881, aged 6y. Cullen, b. 
1822, lost Oct. gale, 1841. Jason lives in Greggsville. Olive 
m. Dr. Cotton of Chicago. I cannot trace the South Truro 
branch of this family. 

Ridli v. — Thomas appears early as a citizen; at one time 
were a considerable family. Reference is frequently made to 
them in the early history of the town. Children : 

i. Thomas, b. 1685, died in Truro, 1767. 

ii. Mary, b. 1707, m. 1728, Nicholas Sparks, 

iii. Deborah, b. 1740, m. 1760, Samuel Newcomb. 

iv. Ann, m. Deacon Edward Knowies. 

I have heard that one of these families had a large number 
of girls ; that they were all very handsome ; were married in 
Boston, and that one of them, whose portrait was painted for 
a gallery, was known as the " Boston Beauty." Not many 
years ago some of the name were living in Provincetown. 
James moved to Harpswell. Taylor Small m. Thankful, moved 
to Harpswell. 

Small, Smalle, or Smally. — Freeman says the same in 
all cases. It was not uncommon for the early families to sim- 
plify and abbreviate their names. This was particularly true 
of the Norman, Huguenot and Welsh. There is as much dif- 
ference between some of these old names and the plain English 
rendering, as a full-blown Frenchman of Louis the XIV 's 



562 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

time and a Pennsylvania Dutchman. The changes in the 
Truro names, which were considerable, took place during the 
2d and 3d generations. In this case the first records, and the 
first gravestones are almost invariably Smally. Fifty years 
ago many of the old clung to the vernacular. It is not hard 
to account for such changes. First abbreviated for conven- 
ience or harmony, they soon became recognized and accepted. 
Children write their names as called, and in a generation, 
custom becomes better authority than law. These remarks 
will apply to various other names that may fall under this rule. 

Small is a recognized name in this country. John, the 
accepted ancestor of the Cape family, in Plymouth, 1632, a 
freeman 1642, came with the first to Eastham ; constable, 1646 ; 
surveyor, 1649; °f tne Grand Inquest, 1654. Early as 1637 
was appointed with others, "honest and "lawful men," to lay out 
hay ground at Plymouth ; m. Ann Walden, 1638 ; was living 
1668. Record of death not found. 

From all we gather of his history, he was a great peace- 
loving, law-abiding, and valuable citizen ; rather shunning the 
honors and troubles of office. Children: 



Hannah, b. 1641.n1. John Bangs, 1661 ; John, b. 1644; Isaac and Mary, b. 
1647, baptized at Barnstable, 1648; Mary m. John Snow, 1667, who moved to 
Truro. Samuel, Joseph and James Smally were in Truro early. Joseph m. 
Mercy Young of E., 1719; James m. Deborah Bickford, 1729; also Joseph m. 
Jane Gross of E., 1734. We cannot connect these, but they were assuredly the 
grandsons of John. Isaac has always been a standard name in the family, also 
Samuel, Frances, James and Joshua. Samuel m. Isabel Dyer, 1713. Children: 

i. Samuel, b. 1714, m. Hannah Gross, 1742. 

ii. Taylor, b. 1716, m. Thankful Ridley, 1737. 

iii. Francis, b. 1719. 

iv. Mary, b. 1721, m. Christopher Dyer. 

v. Isabel, b. 1724, m. Joseph Hatch, 

vi. Lydia, b. 1727. 

vii. Hix, b. 1729, m. Elizabeth Hinckley, 1754. 

Francis, b. 1719, was tne father of Isaac, b. 1750, and the grandfather of Col. 
Joshua and Esquire James, b. 1788, d. 1874; both prominent and representative 
men of the town ; Esquire James, the last time in the Legislature, called the 
house to order, being the oldest member. All of this name in Provincetown, 
belonged to the Truro family. 



GENEALOGY. 563 

Smith. — Ralph and wife Deborah were in Eastham, early as 
1654. Dr. Savage thinks he was the Ralph from Hingham, 
Norfolk Co., England, came to Hingham, Mass., 1633, and 
that John was his son. The record says, " John, son of 
Samuel 1st, b. 1673, m. Bethiah, dau. of Stephen Snow," and 

" Thomas, m. about 1681, Mary , had Ralph, b. 1682, 

Rebecca, 1685, Thomas, 1687, David, 1691, and Isaac," per- 
haps before David. These last three were not among the 
first, but were quite early in town and among the enterprising 
citizens. Have always or until of late removals, been a prom- 
inent family at the Pond Village. Gamalial, b. 17 10, m. 
Hannah Harding, 1741 ; Barzillia, b. 1717, m. Eliz. Atkins, 
1737, and Thomas, b. 1720, m. Eliz. Paine, 1741 ; with their 
families were noticeably prominent. Archelaus m. Sarah 
Doane Hopkins, 1775 ; came from Welllieet. Samuel H. of 
Truro, L. A., and E. C. of Charlestown, represent this branch. 
Zoheth, father of John, noticed in eighteenth chapter, was 
born at Eastham ; came when a child to Truro, m. Mary 
Mayo. 

Snow.— Anthony and William from England, were early in 
the country. Anthony settled first in Plymouth, then in 
Marshfield, William in Duxbury. Nicholas, one of the seven 
who settled Nauset with Gov. Prince, the progenitor of the 
great Snow family on the Cape, was probably a brother. He 
came in the Ann, 1623. Had a share in the first Plymouth 
land, and was of Stephen Hopkins Company, in 1627, to 
whose lot fell a " black weaning calfe, and the calfe of this 
year to come, if the black cow," etc. Was a freeman and 
taxpayer before 1627 ; m. Constanta, or Constance, dau. of 
Stephen Hopkins. There is no list of his children, but Gov. 
Bradford says, in 1650, he had twelve all alive and well. He 
was of sterling value to the new town in all departments, bore 
its burdens and offices, d. 1676. Was succeeded as town 
clerk by his son Mark, who m. Ann, dau. of Josias Cook, 1655, 
2d. Jane, dau. Gov. Prince, 1660; was prominently before the 
town and colony all his life. Other sons were Joseph, Stephen, 
John and Jabez ; dau. Mary m. Thomas Paine. 



564 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

John 2 (Nicholas 1 ) b. about 1645, m - Mary Smalley, 1669, nine children, all born 
in Eastham, moved to Truro where his father was a large land owner. Sons, 
John, b. 1678, Isaac, b. 1683, and Elisha, b. 1687, moved with him, and all 
became actively identified with the interests of the town. Stephen m. 1663 
widow Rogers, appears quite noticeably in the first records ; must have been a 
brother to John, though Josiah Paine says Stephen, brother of John, came into 
possession of land in Harwich, but our records show him among the early names. 

In tracing genealogical records, it is always refreshing to 
notice certain Christian names crop out, that make glad the 
banks of the stream of time for many generations. We shall 
notice in the family of John and Elizabeth Snow, coming for 
the first time to the surface, the now familiar names of 
Anthony, Ambrose, and David,, that thereafter are as much a 
part of the family as Henry and Edward of the Tudors. May 
their shadow never be less. 

John 3 (John, 2 Nicholas 1 ), b. 1678, m. Elizabeth, was next to Thomas Paine, 
one of the active men in the settlement of Truro, as has been noticed. Chil- 
dren : 

i. John, b. 1706, m. Hannah Paine. 

ii. Anthonv, b. 1709, m. Sarah Paine, dau. of Jonathan, 

iii. Elisha, b. 171 1. 

iv. Isaac, b. 17 13. 

v. Mary, b. 17 16. 

vi. Ambrose, b. 17 18, m. Hannah. 

vii. Amasa, b. 1720. 

viii. David, b. 1723. 

The children of Anthony and Sarah Paine were, David, b. 1732, Daniel, b. 
1734, Elisha, 1736, John, 1738, Jonathan, 1740, Sylvanus, 1742, Anthony, 1744, 
Sarah, 1746, Elizabeth, 1748, Anna, 1750, Mary, 1753, Jesse, 1759, What vital 
energies were in these Pilgrim families of which this was only one ! What pos- 
sibilities in these eight sons and four daughters all coming to vigorous man and 
womanhood to become priests and priestesses at as many altars in the land ! 
How outstretching and neverceasing the hereditary of John Snow I The compli- 
ment paid by Mr. Damon to the memory of Dea. Anthony, hid away for seventy 
years, is a mine of priceless value. We cannot further pursue this family which 
became populous and lay hold of all the material interests of the town. 

Stevens. — Richard was admitted an inhabitant of Truro 
by a vote of the proprietors, 1710. I can give nothing posi- 
tive of their origin. Nathaniel Stevens of Dover Neck, b. 
in Salisbury, Eng., 1645. Richard at Dover Neck, 1675 or 



GENEALOGY. 5 6 5 

8. m. Mehitable Colcord. Simon Stevens was at Cape Cod, 
fishing, 1667. I have shown that not a few families moved 
from Dover Neck to Truro. As Stevens was not a Cape 
name, by putting all these facts together, we establish at least 
presumptive proof that the first Richard was of the Dover 
Neck stock. But as he m. a dau. of Rev. Mr. Treat, it will 
indicate that he came via Eastham. His house was at E. H., 
still known as Stevens' Bank. The family has never been 
large, but quite prominent. The old name has been well sus- 
tained ; there has never been a time since 1710 when there 
was not at least one Richard in the field. They enjoyed the 
reputation of being good talkers, particularly at town-meeting. 
On one occasion, when a new town road was being discussed, 
Captain Jonah addressed the meeting. " Mr. Moderator, 
gentlemen are so blind as to advocate laying out a new public 
thoroughfare through our town. They evidently have not 
considered the importance of this measure. Mr. Moderator, 
already I see the county commissioners, those liberal gentle- 
men, riding down the county like Jehu the son of Nimshi, at 
your invitation, and prancing about town to lay out a great 
highway, and the money to come out o£ our pockets." 

Wife Abigail and son Levi, b. 1709, came with Richard to Truro. Other 
children were Richard, b. 1711; Joanna, b. 1713, Abigail, b. 1715; Jerusha, 
5. 1717; John, b. about 1719, m. Joanna Smith, 1742 Richard 2 (Richard 1 ) m. 
Mary Gross, 1741, b. 1720; 2d, Mary Nickerson, 176S, of Provincetown. He 
died, 1792. Children : 

i. Jonah, b. 1742, m. Rachel Rich, 1765. 

ii. Micah, b. 1744. 

iii. Levi b. 1748, m Anna, 1772, dau. Deacon Anthony Snow. 

iv. Richard, b. 1751, m. Mercy. 

v. Mary. 

vi. Abigail. 

vii. Henry. 

Levi 3 (Richard 2 Richard 1 ),b. 1748, m. Anna Snow. He died 1829. Children : 

i. Abigail, b. 1774, m. Joseph Chandler, 1792. 

ii. Richard, b. 1777, lost, 1799. 

iii. Jonah, b. 1775, m. Hannah Sellew, 1797 ; 2d, Mercy Sellew, d. 1850 

iv. Mary, b. 1780, m. Samuel Atkins, 1799. 



566 TRURO— CAPE COD. 

v. Henry, b. 1782, m. Rebecca Newcomb, 1808. 

vi. Sarah, b. 1784. 

vii. Levi, b. 17S9, m. Mehitable Lombard, 1812, d. 1852. 

viii. Anna, b. 1780, m. Francis Small, 1801. 

ix. John, b. 1792, m. Polly Coan. 1817, lost, 1803. 

Savage.— This name long extinct, was prominent in the 
early settlement. John signed the agreement of 1697. Eben- 
ezer, by wife Joanna, had John, b. 1704, m. Dinah, b. at the 
Vineyard, 1708 ; a large family. The name Dinah descended 
through many generations. Of this issue Hannah, b. 1743, 
m. 1st Andrew Hill, a Scotch soldier, lost on the Grand 
Bank. Son John, b. about 1775, the "scape-gallows," as nar- 
rated, m. Salome Smith of Wellfieet, raised a large family, 
all of whom, I think, are dead and the name lost. 

Treat. — Samuel, son or grandson of the Eastham min- 
ister, whose history we have related, was among the early set- 
tlers ; m. Sarah Rich of Truro. Son Nathaniel, b. 1747, "the 
Truro astronomer." Were never a large family, but always 
noticeable. Betsey Treat m. Aquila Rich, about 1800. Aquila 
Rich Treat, the last of the family of whom I have knowledge, 
moved to Cohasset ; died about 1878. 

Vickery. — Rev. Jonathan was the first settled minister in 
Chatham ; drowned in Pleasant Bay by a boat upsetting. 
Left a good estate. Son, Deacon Jonathan, b. 1683. Moved 
to Truro. Bought a pew in the church. Chosen deacon 
1728, d. 1 741 ; dau. Elizabeth of the youthful adventure, m. 
Jonathan Collins, d. 1741; Mary, m. Thomas Paine 4 , 1731. 
At one time were a quite large family, and by marriage con- 
siderably interwoven with the town. Capt. Jonathan owned 
a farm in Truro, lived in Hull. 

Young. — A common name in England, and of wide circu- 
lation, probably embracing many distinct branches or families 
in this country. Joseph bought land near Bangs, in Truro, 
1 703. The name was never large in Truro ; have always had 
a good representation in Wellfieet and Chatham. 



GENEALOGY. 567 

Bickford. — John came from England. Was in Plymouth 
hefore 1648; was married there that year; soon after in East- 
ham Eleven children. Jeremiah and wife Hannah had a 
family of twelve children in Truro 1710-35. 

Coan. — First introduced into Truro in the following 
notice: 

October 11, 1759. — Married, Abram Coan and Christian Hinckley. Have 
always had good and capable men in the family, but seem to have been unusuallv 
subject to casualties and removals, so that the name has never been numerous. 

We turn from our work with a consciousness of having 
aimed to perform a long-cherished duty, and in deep sympathy 
with the generations that we have followed as they came upon 
the stage of life, performed their part, and have gone to the 
land from whence there is no return. We are impressed with 
the shortness of the longest life, and the importance of living in 
harmony and communion with God. 

" Degres des ages " was the title of a picture I saw in an 
antiquarian hall in Paris, perhaps the original of which we 
have seen many imitations. The stages of life represented 
from helpless infancy in the cradle to helpless old age in bed 
as at the beginning. Stretching over the cradle as over the 
ascending steps where mounted light-hearted youth, was a 
wide-branching tree with doves cooing in the thick foliage. 
On the other side, over tottering decline and the bed of 
helplessness, were the bare limbs of a blighted tree with a 
solitary owl in gloomy repose. But over the cradle of the 
helpless child there was an angel with torch and outspread 
wings ready to guide through all the untrod paths of life ; 
and by the couch of the old pair there was the angel still with 
outspread wings ready to bear them through the valley of the 
shadow of death. There is youth and old age, the green tree 
and the dry tree, sunshine and shadow, but " The angel of 
God abideth forever." 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Atkius, Rev. Daniel, East Pepperell. 

Atkins, Rev. DoaneRich, Custer City, Dak. 

Atkins, Freeman Snow, Charlestown. 

Atkins, John Richard, East Somerville. 

Atkins, Gamaliel Paine, Newton. 

Atkins, Edwin, New York. 

Atkins, Elisha, Boston. 

Atkins, Arthur L., Boston. 

Atwood, Simeon, Wellfleet. 

Atwood, Abram, Auburn, Me. 

Aubens, I., Boston. 

Avery, Walter T., New York. 

Ayres, Dana, Perry, Pike Co., 111. 

Ayres, Marshall, Jr., New York. 

Bay ley, Augustus R., Cambridgeport. 
Beals, Henrv M., East Somerville. 
Brooks, Col. W. C, Boston. 
Brooks, Sidney, Boston. 
Baker, Mrs. Ketura, Charlestown. 
Baker, Capt. George, Wellfleet. 
Burt, Capt. John, Provincetown. 
Brown, Wm. F., Cambridge. 

Coffin, Charles H., Newburyport. 
Cobb, Elisha W., Maiden. 
Coan, Frank E., East Somerville. 
Coan, Thomas S., East Somerville. 
Choate, C. F., Prest. O. C. R. R. 
Collins, Isaac, Provincetown. 
Cook, Jonathan, Provincetown. 
Cozzino, Mrs. J. A., New York. 

Davis, Capt. Eben, East Somerville. 
Davis, Joshua H., East Somerville. 
Davis, Solomon, East Somerville. 
Davis, N. J. K., East Somerville. 
Davis, L. F. S., East Somerville. 
Davis, E. L., East Somerville. 
Dutro, John M., St. Louis, Mo. 
Dutro, T. Corwin, St. Louis. 
Dyer, Samuel Esq., Truro. 
Dyer, John B. , Truro. 
Dyer, Josiah T., Boston. 
Dyer, Benj. Henry, Provincetown. 
Dyer, Joseph Hersey, Provincetown. 
Dunn, Hon. Edward II., Boston. 
Deane, Charles, LL. D., Cambridge. 
Dexter, Rev. Henry, D.D., New Bedford. 

Eagle, Robert, St. Louis, Mo. 
Elliott, George T., Boston. 
Eldredge, Rev. Azariah, Yarmouthport. 
Evans, Mary, Prin. L. E. Sem., Paines- 

ville, O. 
Emery, John S., Boston. 
Emery, Daniel S., Boston. 

Fish, Rev. John S , Truro. 
Fisk, Gen. Clinton B., New York. 
Fletcher William, East Somerville. 
Freeman, James E., Boston. 
Freeman, Hon. Knowles, Boston. 
Fielding, Warren, Provincetown. 



Gross, Jaazaniah, East Somerville. 
Gross, Bartholomew O., Provincetown. 
Gross, Oran R., M. D., New York. 

Hughes, Albert E., East Somerville. 
Hughes, John Avery, East Somerville. 
Hughes, Capt. Asa Sellew, Philadelphia, Pa,, 
Hughes, Capt. Atkins, Truro. 
Hopkins, Nehemiah Somes, Boston. 
Hopkins, Elisha Baker,,M. D., Oswego, N. V 
Hopkins, Solomon, East Somerville. 
Hopkins, James Hughes, Barnstable. 
Hopkins, Nathaniel, Provincetown. 
Hill, Warren S., Hyde Park. 
Hinckley, James G., Charlestown. 
Hinckley, Benj., Woburn. 
Hig°ins, Richard Sears, Boston. 
Harding, Samuel Dyer, Worcester. 
Harding, Benj. Lombard, Des Moines, Io. 
Harvey, Prof. Thomas W. , Painesville, O. 
Howes, Thomas P., Boston. 
Holway, Rev. Mrs. Raymond F., Lynn. 

Kauffman, John W., St. Louis, Mo. 
Kimball, Prof. John E., Newtonville. 
Kelley, Robert M., Boston. 
Knowles, Joshua, Truro. 
Knowles Abbott L., East Somerville. 
Knowles, Cyrus Blake, East Somerville. 
Knowles, Alvah A., Boston. 

Library, Harvard College, Cambridge. 
Library, Massachusetts State, Boston. 
Libraiy, Boston Public, Boston. 
Library, Boston Society, Boston. 
Library, Worcester, Free Public, Worcester. 
Library, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, 

D. C. 
Library, City, Lowell. 
Lombard, Capt. David, Truro. 
Lombard, David Jr., Truro. 
Lombard, Benj. Jr., Galesburg, 111. 
Lombard, Lewis, East Somerville. 
Lombard, Isaac Gross, Chicago, 111. 
Lombard, John W. P., Marinette, Wis. 
Lombard, Josiah, New York. 
Lombard, Col. Richard T., Wayland. 
Lombard, Solomon Thomas, Boston. 
Lombard, Arthur C, Boston. 
Lawrence, Wesley E., New Orleans, La. 
LewiSj Daniel Frank, Provincetown. 
Livermore, John Hopkins, Provincetown. 
Lockwood, Brooks & Co., Boston. 

Mayo, Charles E., St. Paul, Minn. 

Mayo, Timothy L., Boston. 

Mayo, Richard L., Boston. 

Mayo, Noah, Boston. 

Mayo, U. K., M. D., Boston. _ 

Mayo, Lysander Delano, Provincetown. 

Mayo, Edwin Curtis, Provincetown. 

Matherson, Capt. Wm , Provincetown. 

Merrill, Wm. B., Boston. 

Mills, Bailey T., Boston. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.— DONORS. 



569 



Miller, Edwin C, Boston. 
Milliken, E. C, Boston. 2 vols. 
Moody, Samuel D., New Orleans, La. 
Myrick, Rev. Osborn, Middletown Springs, 
Mills, Delia A., Middletown Springs, Vt. 
McClure, Newell W., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Nickerson, Pliney, Boston. 
Nickerson, Thomas, Newton. 
Nickerson, Reuben, Provincetown. 
Newcomb, Warren, New Vork. 
Noble, Geo. B., Truro. 

Paine, Capt. Jeremiah, Brooklyn, N. V. 

Paine, Josiah Rich, Boston. 

Paine, Capt. John Avery, East Somerville. 

Paine, Jedediah Chase, New York. 

Paine, Solomon, New York. 

Paine, George W., Esq., Carroll City, lo. 

Paine, A. Elliott, M. D.. Brockton. 

Paine, Robert Treat, Jr., Boston. 

Paine Josiah, Harwich. 

Plaisted, E. Rosabella, Wenham. 

Pettis, George Washington, Provincetown. 

Phillips, Calvin T., South Hanover. 

Pendergrace, Jesse S., Reading. 

Rich, Matthias, Boston. 
Rich, William Penn, Boston. 
Rich, William Arthur, Boston. 
Rich, Irving Hale, Chicago, 111. 
Rich, Delia Collins, Painsville, O. 
Rich, Hiram, Gloucester. 
Rich, Maria A. Boston, 2 vols. 
Rich, Richard, Jr., Maiden. 
Rich, Thomas Williams, Chelsea. 
Rich, Samuel B., Boston. 
Rich, Capt. Lyman B., Boston. 
Rich, Isaac Baker, Boston. 
Rich, John, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Rich, Thomas A., Boston. 
Rich, Sewell W., Boston. 
Rich, Reuben Chester, Boston. 
Rich, Edward Ruggles, South Boston 
Rich. Napthali Jr., South Boston. 
Rich, Henrv Holmes, Boston. 
Rich, Seth, Reading. 
Rich, Eiisha Demondrel, Boston. 
Rich, James W., Boston. 
Rich, Frank B., Hyde Park. 
Rich, Edwin B., Boston. 
Rich, John W., Boston. 
Rich, Nelson Jerome, Boston. 
Rich, James A., Boston. 
Rich, Abraham, Boston. 
Rich, Atkins, North Cambrid] 
Rich, Thomas Al'.en, Cohassei. 
Rich, IsaiahCurtis, Boston. 



Rich, Col. Rushworth, Boston. 
Rich, Thos. Byron, Charlestown. 
Rich, Isaac, Truro. 
\'t. Rich, Capt. Seares, Truro. 

Rich, Abner Bicknell, Provincetown. 

Rich, Zaccheus, Provincetown. 

Rich, Samuel, Provincetown. 

Rich, Allen West, Wellfleet. 

Rich, Frank A., Barre. 

Rich, Aquila, New York. 

Rich, Wm. Augustus, New York. 

Rich, Geo. W." Brooklyn, N. Y 

Rich, William Henry, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Rich, Josiah, Jr., New York. 

Rich, Clayton E., New York. 

Rich, Tames Vanderkemp, New Yoll 

kich, Geo. H., M. D., New York 

Rich, Benj. Sweet, Sup., Onancock, V.i 

Rich, Arthur Crawford, Charlestown 

Rich, Obadiah, Jr., Chelsea. 

Rich, Joseph Smith, Charleston 11 

Rich, Samuel, Charlestown. 

Rich, Joseph Smith, Maiden. 

Rich, Oliver, T., Charlestown. 

Rider, Alfred, San Francisco, Cal. 

Reed, Col. John H., Cotuit Port. 

Small, Benj. G., Chelsea. 
Small, Thomas Fields, Truro. 
Small, I. MortOD, Truro. 
Small, James A., Provincetown. 
Small, Reuben, New York. 
Snow, BarnaS., Boston. 
Snow, Jeremiah N., Boston. 
Snow, Isaac, New York. 
Stevens, Herbert F., New York. 
Stevens, Capt. Levi, Fruitvale, Cal. 
Smith, James Rich, San Francisco, Cal. 
Swift, Samuel Soper, Provincetown. 
Sears, Philip H., Boston. 
Stocker, David W., Boston. 
Soule, Charles, Dorchester Dis. 
Smith, Ephraim C, East Somerville. 

Thatcher, Henry C, Boston. 
Thompson, John G., Truro. 
Treat, J. Harvey, Lawrence. 
Tirrell, Daniel Lombard, Boston 

Woolson, James A., Cambridgeport. 
Wells, P. Francis, Cambridgeport. 
Wiley, Isaiah H., Boston. 
Whorf, Isaiah Atkins, Boston. 
Watson, Eugene W., Provincetown. 
Williams, Andrew Thomas, Provincetowr 
Woodward, Charles L., New York. 
Worthen, Moses E., New York. 
White, Thomas, New York. 



INDEX. 



A few words proper, as Truro, Cape Cod and Boston that appear frequently throughout the 
work, we have thought best to omit, though their compounds have received full attention. The 
names of all vessels and of all engaged in the army and navy during the War of the Rebellion 
have also received careful mention. 



Aaron's Golden Calf, 149. 

Abbott, William, 490. 

Abel, 25. 

Accotuck, 142. 

Achilles, 18, 20. 

Adams old Arithmetic, 126. 

Adams, Sam., 331, 306. 

Adams, Doctor Sam, 277, 285. 

Addington, Isa, Sec, 117. 

Advance, U. S. Str., 480. 

Mollis, 183. 

Addison, 342. 

Admiral, 356, 4S0. 

Africa, 117, 207, 229, 250, 493, 

501, 512. 
Agamemnon, 22. 
Agassiz, Prof., 198, 312. 
Agreement on the Mayflower, 49. 
Ah Sin, 191. 
Ajalon, 436. 
Alabama, 26, 213. 
Alabama, Schr., 512. 
Albany, 181. 
Alcibiades, 20. 
Alexander, 31. 
Allen River, 119. 
Allen, Rev. Benjamin, 24^, 
Allen, Joseph, 172. 
Allerton, 75, 426. 
Alhambra, 469. 
Altair, Schr. and Crew, 505. 
Altamont, 429. 
Altor, Schr. and Crew 511. 
Ambros' Dictionary, 433. 
America, Schr., 502. 
America Ship, 488. 
America, 23, 38, 39, 62, 66, 118, 

260, 26S, 274, 459, 468 
American, 23, 24, 55, 211, 265, 

276, 285, 2SS, 354, 355, 

361, 392,468. 
American Bible Society, 29S. 
American Duty, 278. 
American Flag, 285. 
American Indians, 311. 
American Liberty. 
American Market, 251. 
American Treaty on the Fisher- 

eries, 194. 
Anioskeag Falls, 194. 
Amsterdam, 45, 195, 264, 343. 
Anchises, old, 425. 
Andersonville, 359. 
Andes, 468. 
Andover Theological Sem., 

37°- 
Andrews, Sarah, 410. 
Angier, Saml., 162. 
Anglo-Saxon, 86, 274, 296,. 445. 
Anglo-Saxon Brig, 515. 
Anne, 78. 

Annis, Charles, 176, 208. 
Anthony, 81. 
Anthony's Bottom, 90. 



Antonio Port, 312. 

Appian Way, 60. 

Arabian Gulf. 

Arabian Sea, 201. 

Arabia, Felix, 467. 

Arden, Enoch, 450. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, 123. 

Archangel, 495. 

Arctuius, 385. 

Arctic and Pacific, 392. 

Arctic Ocean, 24. 

Area of Lakes in Barnstable 

Co., 191. 
Argal, Sir Saml., 268. 
Argos, 26. 
Agreement to build a Meeting- 

House, 147. 
Argumentum Piscatorium, in. 
Aristophanes, 126, 469. 
Americanward, 244. 
Armemaryvetta, 75. 
Africa Bay, 479. 
Army Corps, 476. 
Army Hospital, 286. 
Arrival. Schr. and Crew. 502. 
Arnold, 52, 286, 311, 440. 
Arundel, Sir John, 128. 
Ashby, 436. 
Ashim, 159. 

Ashimuit or Shtimuit, 159. 
Aspenet, 29. 
Aspin wall, 481. 
Assooat, 85. 
Atheniens, 20. 
Athens, 468. 
Atkins, 87, 100, 146, 20S, 227, 

231, 273, 277, 2S0, 302, 

307. 325, 360, 392. 395, 

477, 488, 4S9, 492, 496, 

497, 512, 5>5- 
Atkins, Capt. Henry, 114. 
Atkins, Capt. Joshua, 162, 163, 

233, 238, 247, 260, 272, 

273, 277, 289, 301. 
Atkins, Joshua, Capt. of N. Y., 

392- . 
Atkins, Daniel, Rev., 330. 
Atkins Doane R.. Rev., 331. 
Atkins, John R., 480. 
Atkins, Capt. Freeman, 355, 

471, 472. 
Atlantic, 35, 47, 49, 207, 417, 

442. 
Atlantic and Pacific. 
Attorney-General, 282. 
Attica, 26. 
Atwood, no, 112, 216, 287, 307, 

310, 312, 494, 507, 514. 
Auford Lawrence, 496. 
Auld Lang Syne, 335. 
Aunt Achsah, 303. 
Aurey, Capt., 2S2, 2 S3. 
Austin, 475. 
Avery Agreement, 153. 

570 



Avery, Rev. John, 146, 147, 151- 
166, 208, 220, 228, 230, 235, 
243. 376. 

Avery Family, 157, 158. 

Avery Harvard College Line, 157. 

Avery Ordination, 154. 

Avery Will. 

Avery, Mrs. Ruth, 157, 163. 

Avery, Walter T., 164. 

Avery, 20S, 233, 252, 254, 273, 
489, 493-7- 

Aydelotte, 4S1, 512. 

Ayres, 262, 292, 301, 398. 

Ayres and Lombard, 298. 

Awakenings, 97. 

Azores, 229, 419. 

Azor, Bark, 405. 

Baker, 297, 312, 343, 364, 395. 
Backside, 61, 116, 140, 287,442. 
Bacon, John, 250. 
Bacon, Lord, 31, 130, 264, 427, 

. 434- 
Baltimore, 252. 
Baird, Prof., 36, 190. 
Bailey, Rev. Stephen, 298, 363, 

364, 369, 380. 
Bancroft, 36. 
Banks, 365, 367, 420, 422, 425, 

5", 5'5- 
Bangs, 79, 80, 81, 87, 218, 307, 

514- 
Baptismal Covenant, 160. 
Barnard, Sir Francis, Gov., 1 14. 
Barnard, Richard of Batcombe, 

314- 
Barker, T. L., 402. 
Barnstable, 35, 78, S4, 134, 176, 

200, 250, 259, 45°, 459, 4 6 1 , 

510. 
Barnstable County, 213, 249, 260, 

290. 
Barnstable Conference, 269. 
Barrington, 275. 
Banlett, Rev. Mr., 45, 51. 
Bassett, 75, 106. 
Bath, 286. 
Baton Rouge, 476. 
Baylies, 51. 
Bayonne, 214. 
Bay, 431, 509. 
Bay State, 99. 
Bay Psalm Book, 241. 
Bay Waters, 445. 
Bay of Chaleurs, 512. 
Bay of St Lawrence, 420. 
Bay of Mexico, 501 
Beach Point, 61, 69, 109, 202, 

218, 430, 442, 443, 510. 
Beaconsfield, Lord, 134. 
Beaman, Rev. Charles C, 369- 

70. 
Beard, James, Schr., 423. 
Bearse, 93. 



INDEX. 



571 



Beau Flash, 251. 

Beauchamp, William, 311. 

Bedford Prison, 42. 

Beebe, Rev. H., 375. 

Bell Meeting-house, 363. 

Bell Isle, 339, 420. 

Bellamont, Gov., 224. 

Bellame, Samuel, 200, 222. 

Bellamie, 46. 

Bellerus, 132. 

Benson, Edward W., Bishop of 



Bridge, Rev., Josiah, 29S. 
Brown, John, 239. 
Browning, Mrs., 502. 
Bridge (Brush) Valley, 115. 
Brigs, M. Henri, 105. 
Brighton, 418. 
Bride, Schr. of Dennis, 507. 
Brimmer, John, 476. 
Britain, 39. 

British, 187, 265, 274, 2S1, 284, 
286, 353, 357, 390, 405. 



Truro 
Berkeley, Gov., 99. 
Berkshire, 386. 
Bermuda Hundred, 475. 
Beth Horan, 436. 
Bianca, Schr., Crew of, 500. 
Bible, 42, 167, 184, 250. 
Bickford, Jeremiah, 146. 
Bion, Schr. and Crew, 516. 
Bills of Credit, 231. 
Bill of Fare Forefathers Day, Buckle, 50, 249, 279. 

349. Bucksport, 244, 

Bill of Sale, 22S. Budleigh, 119, 

Billingsgate, 30, 76, 79, 115, 229, Bugbee, R. G , 402. 



Britishers, 93, 279, 357. 
Briton, 41, 137. 
Brocton, 479. 
Brougham Lord John, 51. 
Brother Chips, 135. 
Brother Electors, 135. 
Brother Joe, 351-2. 
Brother Zack, 505. 
Brooks, Rev. Philips, 150. 
Brooklyn, 392. 



253. 487- 
Billington, 76. 
Bishop of Milan, 433. 
Bismarck, 365. 
Blackfish, 113. 
Blackfriars, 134, 246. 
Blackstone, 159, 334. 
Blake, Mr. James, 233. 
Blake, Hon. M. C, 402. 
Blake, Mrs., 376. 
Blair, 185, 376. 
Boscawan, Edward, 127. 
Bolerium, 132. 
Boston Daily Advertiser, 395. 



Boston Independent Chronicle, Byron, 196, 432 



Bull, 69. 

Bull Run, 478-9. 

Bunker Hill, 279, 

Bunyan, John, 42. 

Burge, Joe, 172. 

Burk's Speech in Parliament, in 

Burke, Cap. Edmond, 405. 

Burlingame Anson, 191. 

Burn, Rev. Richard, 375. 

Burns, 509. 

Brunnell, Sir Isam, 71. 

Burton, Wm, 512. 

Buxton, 40. 

Buzzards Bay, 103, 357. 



Cabots, 39, 264, 274. 

Cacy, John, 474. 

Cadiz, 494. 

Caesar, 179, 257. 

Calcutta, '243, 3S5, 389, 515 

(Bark), 511. 
California, 513, 
Caloa, 479. 
Cambria, 442. 
Cameron, Lewis, 209 



491. 
Boston Custom House, 477. 
Boston Journal, 432. 
Boston Port Bill, 276. 
Boston Public Schools, 414. 
Boston Resolves, 276. 
Boston Universitv, 410. 
Board of War, 281. 
Boat River Meadow, 200. 
Boniface, 138. 
Book of Common Prayer, 150, Cammaquids, 2S-9, 30. 

239. Candy, Rev. Jeremy, 239. 

Bordeaux, 419. Canton, 499. 

Bowdoin, Hon. James, 104. Canton, Packet, 388. 

Bowen, Esquire of Sandwich, Canada, 26S, 273, 286. 

282. Canadians, 272. 

Bowker, Torry, & Co., 491. Canaries, 36. 

Rowley, Mr., 207. Cane River, 476. 

Bounds, 102. Canonicus, 26. 

Bound Brook, Si, 83, 102, 112, Cannon, Rev. George, 306, 309, 

114, 184, 319, 327. 311. 

Bourne, Capt. Richard, 30- 1, 98 Canon Kingsley, 69. 
Boyter, Rev. Charles, 364- 5, Cape Ann, 253. 

367, 8. Cape Blanco, 37. 

Bracebridge, Hall, 127. Cape Britain, 26S-9. 

Bradstreet, Horatio E., 414, Cape Carnaval, 501. 
Bradford, 46-6, 7, 53-4, 68, 75, Cape Codder, 189, 206, 386. 

76, 198, 226, 258, 306, 462, Cape Cod Association of Boston, 



Brahma's White Bull, 446, 

Brallaghan , Mrs., 420. 

Brasher City, 481. 

Brazil, in. 

Brenda, Schr. and Crew, 512. 



37. 525. . 
Cape Cod Association of N.York, 

392- 
Cape Cod Bay, 103, 430, 517. 
Cape Cod Branch, 440, 45c;. 



Brewster, 44, 75, 79, 294, 358, 3S6, Cape Cod Canal, 103-4, 200. 

443. Cape Cod fishing, 248-9. 

Brewster Association, 379. Cape Cod Harbor, 232, 264, 284, 

r, 4, 89, 493, 594- 443- 

p n;ed, Nathaniel, 166. Cape Cod Marine Tel. Co., 444. 



Cape Cod Tel. Co., 444. 

Cape Cod Parishes, 291. 

Cape Good Hope, 105, 494, 516. 

Cape Horn, 447, 515. 

Cape James, 36. 

Captain's Island, 91. 

Capt. Sam's Hill, 

Capt. Carlton, 516. 

Carbons Song of, 201. 

Carew, 1.17. J 

Carnes, Win. R., 477. , 

Carolinas, 2SS. I 

Cartland Crags, 16S. 

Carthagena, 125. 

Carver John, Gov., 50. 

Carvosso, Wm., 129. 

Cascum Peck, 513, 

Cashmere, 467. 

Castalian, 42. 

Castle Michael, 402. 

Cassidy, Daniel, 513. 

Cattle, Owners of, 1711, 101. 

Cavalier, 296. 

Cedar Creek, 476. 

Central America, 24. 

Central Wharf Co., 395. 

Cerbeus, 24. 

Chaddock, Rev. Emery G., 371. 

Chase, William, 171. 

Chapman, Abraham, 59, 495, 

496. 
Charlestown, 395. 
Charlestoun Advertiser, 223. 
Charleston, 493—4, 497. 
Charles the First, 293, 334. 
Chandler, 495, 497. 
Charlotte, 208, 390. 
Chatham, 37, 194-5, 198, 200, 

252, 26S, 515. 
Chatterbox, Charles, 343. 
Chaucer, 42. 
Chief, Bark, 501. 
Chever, Rev. Edward, 238. 
Chelsea, 392. 
Chicago, 370, 397, 398. 
China, 445. 
Chinese Wall, 103. 
Childs, 493, 500, 516. 
Chincha Islands, 385. 
Church, 42, 150, 151, 311. 447. 
Church, Baptist, 290. 
Church, Congregational, Consli. 

tution, 42. 
Church, Congregational, 42, 79, 

89, 290, 331, 463, 368-9, 

383, 513- 
Church of England, 150. 
Church Established, 43. 
Church Council, 244, 
Church of Christ in Truro, 295. 
Church Green, 388. 
Church History, 294. 
Church, Methodist, 297, 306, 

319, 409, 509. 
Church of Key, 127. 
Church, Presbyterian, 161, 240. 
Church, Orthodox, 297, 306. 
Church Records, 298. 
Church, Romish in Mexico, 16S 
Church of Scotland, 238. 
Church of Scrooby, 44, 314. 
Church, Universalis:, 306. 
Church, Rev. A. J., 459. 
Christianity, 219, 315. 
Clark, -1, 117, 248, 278, 325, 

375> 429, 429- 
Codfish and Molasses, 271. 
Cienfeugos, 515. 



572 



INDEX. 



Cincinnatus, Schr. and Crew, 

5°3, 5°7- 
Circuit Riders, 312. 
Committee on Tea, 277. 
Clay Pounds, 86, 204-5, 253, 

259, 260, 282. 
Clay, Henry, 498. 
Clifton, Mr. Richard, 44. 
Coan., 300, 489,495-6, 512, 515. 
Coat of Arms, 457. 
Coast-Guard Lieut., 457. 
Coast Survey, 56. 
Cobb, 176,287, 302, 311,314, 

325, 488, 494. 49 6 , 498» 

512, 516. 
Cockburn, Family, 142. 
Codman, Doctor, 364. 
Coppin, Robert, 46, 74, 77. 
Coggswell, Doctor, 306. 
Cohasset, 434, 492. 
Cold Friday, 434. 
Cold Harbor, 69, 70. 
Cole, 81-2, 87, 88, 146, 225, 247, 

494- 
Colin's,42i. 
Collins, 84, 98, no, 162-3, 226, 

228, 231, 270. 
Collins, 276, 286, 321-2, 359, 378, 

390-2. 
Collins, 473, 488-9, 491, 494, 496, 

501, 511, 513. 
Collins U. S. Steam Mail Line, 

39 1 - . 

Collins, Wilkie, 130. 

Colonies, 263, 270, 278-9, 2S4, 

295. 
Colonists, 269, 334. 
Colorado, 202. 
Columbus, 36, 105-6, 264. 
Columbian Orator, i2 r >. 
Commerce, Schr. and Crew, 72, 

S°9- , 
Commercial Point, 398. 
Commercial Wharf, 406. 
Commonwealth, 19, 170, 362, 

443- 
Commonage, 94. 
Common Council, 414. 
Comet, Schr. and Crew, 445, 

SOi. 
Cook, 79, 157, 159, 207,216, 2S3, 

293>3°7, 3i°. 3 '2, 492, 59". 

402. 
Cook, Barnabas, 478. 
Cook, John A., Schr., 423. 
Coombs, 203. 

Concord of Dartmouth, Ship, 36. 
Concord, 279. 
Confidence, Ship, 492. 
Confederacy, 29, 30. 
Conant, old Roger, 119. 
Congo, 251. 

Congress, 260, 353, 429. 
Congregational Churchyard, 472, 

47 6 >.477- . . 

Congregational Minister, 310, 

389.. 
Congregationalism, Modern, 295. 
Connecticut, 344. 
Constance, 41. 
Continental, etc., 279, 284. 
Convention at Concord, 281. 
Convention Chamber, 343. 
Coral Rock, Schr. and Crew, 

500, 517. _ 
Cormorant Hill, 106. 
Cornell, Doctor, 456. 
Cornhill, 65,66, 67, 70, 71, 423. 



Cornwall, 34-5, 112, 118, 141, Dean of Canterbury, 137. 

203, 2n, 213, 219, 326, Dean's History of Scituate, 89. 



. 335, 345- 
Cornish, 119-20, 128, 130, 

138, 139. 
Cornish, Adage, 214. 
Cornish, See, 120. 
Cornish, Town, 344. 
Cornishmen, 119. 
Corn Laws, 472. 
Corn League, 472. 
Cornwallis, Eari, 285. 
Cotton, 75, 95-6, 118, 152. 
Copernicus, 303. 



Declaration of Independence, 44, 
132, 97, 2S7. 

Declaration of War, 355. 

Declaration of Barnstable, 90. 

Decoration Week, 182. 

De Acenaro, 501 

De Costa, 49, 222, 463. 

De Gama, 105. 

De Lesseps, 104. 

De Lucy, 120. 

De Tocqueville, 1S. 

Decator, 355. 



County Commissioners, 109, 442. Deer Neck, 224 



County Congress, 279. 
County of Cork, 419. 
Country of the Clouds, 469. 
Council of State, 334. 
Court, 115, 171, 229, 233, 362. 
Court of Admiralitv, 222. 
Court of France, 
Court, Great and General, 247. 
Court of General Sessions, 220. 
Court of High Commissioner? 

5 1 - 
Court of Justice, 30. 
Court at Plymouth, 85. 



Court Right Honored, etc., 248. Diana, 490. 



Democracy of America, 18. 

Dennis, 3S6, 459. 

Derby, 418. 

Dermer, Capt. 66-7, 96. 

Desmoines, Osceola & St. Louis, 

R. R., 142. 
Desire, 75. 

Devereaux, John N. , 432. 
Devereaux Abbott, Schr., 512. 
Devon, Devonshire, 35, 119, 344- 

5. 356. 9°- 
Dexter, Rev. Henry M., D D., 
60—1, 68, 77, 462. 



Cowper, 502 

Cowel, Edward, 100, 216, 257. 

Cowslip, etc., 480. 

Crab Ledge, 164. 

Cromwell, 35, 134, 179, 287. 

Crocker, Rev. Joseph, 235. 

Crows, Wolves and Blackbirds 

102-3. 
Crown, 349. 
Crown Point, 272. 
Crowning Shields and Sons, 491 
Curtis, Samuel, 287. 
Cumberland, Co., 232. 
Cunard Packet, 421. 
Cashing, 84, 310. 
Cushman, Robert, 30. 
Custer City, 331. 



Dickerson, Samuel, 301. 

Dinah, 250. 

Direct Tax of 1798, 257, 260. 

Dives, 346. 

Divine Institution, 228. 

Doane, 31, 79, 80, 97, 157, 197-!?, 

229, 257, 282, 4S7--8 
Doctor of Divinity, 314. 
Doddridge, Doctor, 291. 
Dodge, Rev. John W., 369—70, 

375 - 
Dogtown, 459. 

Dogger, 507. 

Dolhver and Sleeper, 197. 

Dolly Pentreath, 128. 

Doomsday, 207. 



Doone, 352 
Don, Str., 4S0. 
Dalmatia, Schr. and Crew, 503, Don Quixote, 469. 

506. Doncaster, 220, 321. 

Dakota, etc., 476. Dorchester, 364, 398. 

Davis, 322, 365, 371-2, 439, 473, Dorset, Dorsetshire, 35, 55, 125. 

508. Dosmery Pool, 131. 

Davis, Joshua H., Schr. and Dove, Daniel, 378. 

Crew, 512. Dover, Dover Neck, 35, 3S, 460. 

Davis, Jeff, 478. Dow, Rev. Lorenzo, 312. 

Davis Straits, 114. Downes in Holland, 54. 

Damon, 31, 242, 299, 304, 362-3, Drake, 36, 105, 254. 

401. Dramatic Line, 390, 391. 

Damon's Register, 391, 396 487, Drew, Benj., 37, 327. 



492, 494, 49 6 
Dane, 357. 
Dana Edmond, 496. 
Dangerfield, 1 15-16. 
Daniels, John, 352. 
Danube, 127. 
Danville, 477, 511. 
Darby Fame, 456. 
Dark Day, 252. 
Dardanelles, 343. 
Dart River, 360. 
Dart, Schr. and Crew, 497. 
Dartmoor, 259, 453. 
Dartmouth, 35. 
Dartmouth College, 33. 
Davy, 457. 
Days of humiliation and prayer, 

.76. 
Day of Doom, 256. 



Drift Highway, 91. 

Drift Whale, 109-10. 

Drought of 1749, 233. 

Drums, 175. 

Dublin Scholar, 378. 

Dudley, J., Gov., 117, 11S. 

Duke d' Anville, 272. 

Dunkirk, 269. 

Dungenass, 483. 

Dutch, Dutchmen, 36-7, 39, 46, 
264-5, 343-4. 45°- 

Dwight, Rev. Dr., 386, 495. 

Dyar, Wm., 75. 

Dyer, English Poet, 127. 

Dyer, Paul's Bank, 20S. 

Dyer, 216, 221, 231, 239, 241, 
244, 247, 255, 273, 279-80, 
2S4, 307, 375-°, 479. 488-9, 
493-4, 496-8, 506, 50S. 



INDEX. 



573 



Dyer, Dr. Wm., 31,84, 101, 216. Fallow, Prof., iob. 



Dyer, Joseph S., 359. 
Dyer, Benj. Jr., 479. 

Eagle Neck Marshes, 462. 

Eagle Wins. Ship, 511. 

Earl Douglas, 20. 

Earl of Southampton, 105. 

Earl of Truro, 120. 

East, 347, 366. 

Eastern Question, 134. 



Fashion, 333. 
Fathers, 247, 2 jg 
Father Raslas, ; 
Father Tayloi , 
Father StreeterV S. S. 
Fear, 75. 
Fire Island, 512. 
First Church, 34 4. 
First Encounter, 77 
First Expedition, 59. 



Eastham, 14, 16, 29, 76, 79, 80-3, First N. E. Washing Day, 56-7. 

90-2, 102, 115, 173, 194, First and last Inn in England, 

200, 222, 230, 244, 295, 133. 

312, 327, 368, 379, 406, 4S7. Fingal's Misty Ghost, 470. 
Eastham Camp Meeting, Grove Fish, Tin, and Copper, 139. 

Ass'n, 328. Fish Commissioner, 191. 

East Harbor, 61-2, So-95, 153, Fish Commission, U. S., 190. 

187, 20S-10, 218, 222, 231, Fish, Rev. Mr., 457. 



259. 392, 441-2, 462. 
East Indias, 277, 27S. 
East India Missions, 301. 
Edes-Jetty, 438. 
Eddystone, 34. 
Edward the Fourth, 240. 
Eldridge, 149, 166, 196-7, 232. 
Elegy, 493- 

Eeles Nathaniel, 87-90, 152. 
Election in England, 135. 
Elliott, 472, 495, 516. 
Elliott, Rev. C. B., 36S. 
Egypt, 104. 
Egyptians, 1S3. 
Egypt' 311 Tombs, 462. 
Elia, 143. 
Elvarado, 516. 
Elizabethan Literature 185. 
Embargo, 294, 353, 354, 359, 435. 
Emerald, Schr. and Crew, 515. 
Emerson, 267. 



Fish Story, 173 

Fisherman's College, 351. 

Fisher's Hill, 476. 

Flemish Masters, 434. 

Flanders, 361. 

Flying Dutchman, 366, 447. 

Francis, Bark, 517. 

France, 189, 192,214,268-9,271, 

272, 288, 420, 454, 492. 
France and Great Britain, 355. 
Franklin, Doctor, 337. 
Fredonia, Str., 405. 
Fredonia, Bark, 
Freeman, Si, 87-S, 106, 147, 154, 

162, 233, 258, 272, 277, 280- 

1, 285, 389, 391, 460, 49S. 
Freeman, Rev. Dr. James, 16, 

no, 114, 158, 207, 217-1S, 

243, 255, 259-62, 335, 350, 

356» 3S7, 429, 488. 
Freeman, Rev. Frederick, 16, 53, 

145. 290. 353- 



Emery, 235, 490, 491. 

England, 34-5, 42, 44, 46, 5r, 65, Freeport, 494. 

134, 144, 176, 217, 220, Frenchmen, 343, 360, 419. 

265, 267, 334, 348, 355. Frenchman's Bay, 490. 
English, 24, 28, 34, 39, 41, 66-8, French Colors, 274. 

70, 75, 85, 89, 98, 101, 109, French Court, 39. 

113, 123-4, 127, 138, 169, French Government, 288. 

191,194,201,219,224,227, French War, 108,276. 

242, 244, 247, 253, 264-6, French, 37, 39, 264, 268, 269, 

276,279,283,287,293,300, 270, 360, 361. 

334, 33 6 , 338, 34', 347. 35 6 , Fresnel, 204 



358-9, 442-3, 513 



Friar, Henry, 139. 



Englishmen, 32,60, 118, 134,222 Friendship, Ship, 66. 



241, 29b, 423- 
Eocene Period, 201. 
Erebus, 227. 

Erin go Bragh, Ship, 390 
Eshcol, Brig, 66. 
Europe, 23, 54-5. 8 5. io 9. 



Frisco, 385. 
Froissart's Knight, 341. 
Fruitvale, 402. 

Fogg, Etta S., Schr. and Crew, 
5,6. 
23, Folger, Waiter, 112. 



142, 249, 264-5, 267, 270, Foote, Samuel, 126 
285,311,345,385,392,445, Footes of Lanabesso, 126. 



46S, 495- 
European, 39, 190, 216, 271. 
Escurial, 1 
Essex Co., 253. 
Essex Institute, 489. 
Evans, Doctor, 291. 
Exeter, 35. 
Ezekiels Vision, 290. 

Fair Oakes, 479. 
Faith, 75. 
Falcon, Ship, 68. 
Falkland Islands, no. 
Fal, 12S. 



Forbes, 169. 

Forbisher, 254. 

Fortune, Ship, 60, 78, 79. 

Fortune Jlny, 114. 

Forefathers' Day, 349. 

Fort Jackson, Sir., 482. 

Fort Donaldson, 478. 

Fori Morgan, 480. 

Fort Warren, 252. 

Fort Fisher, 486. 

I 'our I lays' Meetings, 313, 316. 

1 I Corners, 435. 

Fourth National Bank, 397. 
Fundamentals, 144. 



Falmouth, 35-6, 120, 128, 159, Funerals, 175. 

335t 5 X ^- Furies, 227. 

Falmouth Harbor, 127. Furze or Gorse, 313. 



Gadire, 385. 

( iage, Elias, 2S7. 

Gallic, 274. 

Gallaghan, Judy, 419. 

Gallipagos, 3S6. 

Galesburg, 397— S. 

Galveston, 475. 

Ganges, 468. 

Gardner, Henry, Esq., 252. 

Garnet, Schr., 390, 504, 505. 

Garwin, 20. 

Gazette, Salem, 489, 492. 

General Assembly, 231. 

General Court, 18, 19, 78, 106, 
109, 115, 116, 1 18, 16 1, 1 ~2, 
220, 229, 230, 232, 247, 267, 
269, 272, 2S1, 2S2, 2S4. 

General Harrison, Schr. and 
Crew, 503, 506. 

General Lee, 474, 476. 

General Magruder, 475. 

General Mosby, 475. 

General Seigel, 475. 

General Sheridan, 476. 

Geneva, 156. 

Geology, 261. 

Georgia, Str. 481. 

Georgetown Medical School, 478. 

George the Second, 226. 

Georgeus Secundus, 99. 

George the Third, 277. 

Georges Bank, 193, 195, 501, 
504, 507. 

Geraldine, 266, 341. 

German, 267. 

Gettysburg, 474, 475, 479, 4S0. 

5i7- 

Changes Khan, 198. 

Gibraltar, 269. 

Gibson, 436. 

Gibson, 222, 517. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 35, 254. 

Gilbert, Samuel, 138. 

Gill, William, 503. 

Gillet, Acting Master, 4S0. 

Globiceph alus Melas, 113. 

Gleason's Pictorial, 392. 

Glens of a Hundred Bayonet--. 

209. 
Glendale, 479. 
Gloucester, 413. 
Gobi, in, 
God's Acre, 181. 
God's Altars, 149. 
God Knows, 483, 
God of Naturi , 
Gold's Cellar, 84. 
Golden Age, 35. 
Goldsboro, 475. 
Golden Fleece, 271. 
Golden Hind, 105, 25-1. 
Good Hope, 3S5. 
Good News, -;. 
Good Parishioner, 388. 
Goodhue. Rev. Henry, 371. 
Goody Blake, 55. 
Goodyear, Rev. George, 368. 
Gookin, 28, 29. 
Gorham, Historian, 232. 
Gorge, Sir I' Vivlinaiido, 3S. 
Gosnold and Smith, 462. 
Gosnold, Capt. Bart., 29, 36—7 

47, '93-5. 44°- 
Gosport, 86. 
Gottenburg, 404. 
Gov. Washburn, 443. 
Government, 429,441, 461. 
Government Bonds, 211. 



574 



INDEX. 



Government Bounty, 365. 

Government Job, 218. 

Government Patent, 212. 

Grampus Bay, 76, 109. 

Gratitude, Ship, 405. 

Grant at Nauset, 79. 

Great Artist, 436. 

Great Atlantic R. R., 457. 

Great Builder, 436. 

Great Bear, 384. 

Great Britain, 260, 354, 488. 

Great Eastern, 71. 

Great Hollow, 62, 65, 69, 91, 96, 

"3> 378, 423- 
Great Meadow Creek, 77. 
Great Revival, 319. 
Great Sickness, 294, 303. 
Great Storm, 226. 
Great Snow, 97. 
Great Swamp, 204. 
Great South Shoal, 193. 
Great Water, 65. 
Great West, 212. 
Great Western R'y, 71, 119. 
Great Western Slope, 106. 
Gray's Shepherd, 434. 
Greece, 24, 468. 
Greece and Rome, 472. 
Grecian, 26, 255, 434. 
Greeks, 23, 26. 
Greek Oracle, 409. 
Green, 42, 238, 482. 
Green Isle, 213, 493. 
Greenough, John, 252. 
Greenwood, Rev. Mr., 259. 
Greenfield, 363. 
Greenland, 24. 
Greenwich, 259. 
Griffin, Bark, 512. 
Griggsville, 398. 
Gross, 231, 244, 273, 279, 300— 

ii 3>2, 348-9, 355> 487. 

493- 
jross, Isaac Snow, and family, 

398. 
Gross, Capt. Frederick A., 479. 
Gross, Frederick A. Jr., 480. 
Gross, John, A., 474. 
Gross, Joseph R., 476. 
Gross, Thomas H. P., 480. 
Grotes' History, 468. 
Grove's Discourses, 291. 
Grozier, 243, 359, 390, 49S. 
Grozier, John P., 474. 
Guinea, in. 
Gulf Stream, 190. 
Guerriere, Ship, 355. 
Gull Sound, 114. 
Gurnet, 77. 
Gwennap, 137, 219. 

Hain, Luther, 503. 

Haley's Island, 223. 

Hale, Chief Justice, 184. 

Halifax, 270, 2S6, 287. 

Hamilton St. Church, 402. 

Hamilton, Enoch H., 476. 

Hammerton, 14. 

Hampshire, 3S6. 

Hampton Roads, 366. 

Harding, 84, 98, 142, 228, 242, 
274, 276, 279—80, 288, 290, 
300, 302, 364, 406 488, 
494-6, 5'5- 

Harpswell Harbor, 434. 

Hartland Point, 137. 

Hartford, U. S. Str., 481. 

Harrison Campaign, 472. 



Harvard College, 89, 157, 220, 
232, 235, 239, 244, 258, 

290, 298, 470, 481. 
Harwich, 210, 211, 311. 
Hatch, 433, 489, 517. 
Havana, 4S9, 493—4, 496-7. 
Havre, 501. 

Hawkins, Bro., 306--7. 

Hawthorn, 17. 

Hazlett, Rev. Wm., 242. 

Head of the Meadow, 61—2, 68, 

208, 482. 
Head of Pamet, 91, 98, 228, 

504. 
Hebrew, 248. 
Hector, 26, 226, 228, 229. 
Helen, 26. 
Henry the Eighth, 120, 240, 261, 

267. 
Henry the Fourth, 264, 266. 
Herald's College, 120. 
Herbert, J. W., Schr., 512. 
Hercules, 23, 104, 442. 
Hereward the Wake, 219. 
Herring Brook, 79. 
Herring Cove, 48, 507. 
Herring Gut, 490. 
Herring River, 105. 
Heroditus, 54, 104. 
Hesperides, 348. 
Hetsconoyet, 106. 
Hersey, Dr. Abner. 290. 
Hertburn Arms, 142. 
Heva, 141. 

Hide, Edward, 312, 319. 
High Head, 48,61, 202, 206, 208, 

43o. 
Highland, 34, 47, 159, 195, 201, 

204, 207, 444, 506. 
Highland House, 159, 207. 
Highland Light, 204, 207, 253, 

490, 513- 
High- Line, 427. 
High Pole Hill, 53. 
Highway, 106. 
Higgins, 79, 281, 287, 302, 307, 

371, 406, 489, 494. 
Higginson, 54, 55, 271, 417. 
Hill, John, 360, 361. 
Hinckley, 75, 85, 224, 236, 249, 

291, 303, 402, 432, 441, 
. 47i- 

Hincks, 244, 488. 

Hindoo, 24. 

Hingham, 89. 

History, 305, 311, 319, 388, 455. 

History of Cape Cod, 16, 353. 

Historical Collection, 261. 

Hitchcock, Prof., 202, 204, 206, 

209. 
Hobbema, 456. 
Hog's Back, 92, 93, 283. 
Hog Island, 219. 
Hog's Backer, 93. 
Hogg, Col. Sir James McGard, 

136. 
Holland, 45—6, 55. 
Holy Living and Dying, 377. 
Holy Land, 190. 
Home Missionary Society, 379. 
Home, U. S. Str., 479. 
Homer, 26, 386. 
Honduras, 493. 
Hooker, 43, 369, 375. 
Holbrook, 112, 252, 257. 
Hong Kong, 385. 
Hopkins, John L. D., 476, 

477- 



Hopkins, Smith K., 482. 
Hopkins, 68, 75, 80, 81, 230, 276, 

299, 300, 302, 489, 496, 497-. 

498, 500, 516, 517. 
Horace, Odes, 419. 
Horn, The, 385. 
Hornet, Schr. and Crew, 497. 
House of Commons, 240, 264, 

271. 
Hawes Point, 83. 
Howards, 296. 
Howland, Jabez, 83. 
Hubball, Rev. William S., 375- 
Hudibras, 170. 
Hudson Bay, in. 
Hudson, Capt. Henry, 36. 
Hudson River, 46. 
Hudson's History of Lexington, 

17.5- 
Hudsoma, 213. 
Hull, 364, 355, 507. 
Hume, 267. 

Humbert, Capt. Wm., 305. 
Humane Society, 389, 390. 
Hun. 
Hughes, 158, 233, 260, 4S9, 497, 

511. 
Hughes, H. P., 475, 476. 
Hunt, Capt., 66. 
Hurdis, 144. 
Hurd, Ebenezer, 216. 
Huss, John, 41. 
Hutchinson, Gov., 36. 
Hyannis. 
Hymns of David. 

Ida, 516. 

Illinois, 397, 401. 

Imogen, Bark, 392. 

Independence, 280. 

Independency, 42. 

India, 105—6, 446. 

Indian. 23, 33, 54, 59, 85, 96, 98, 
109, 159, 171, 173, 221, 225, 
274, 346-7. 425-6, 468. 

Indian Corn, 260. 

Indian Neck, 67, 233, 246. 

Indian Pamet, 115. 

Indian Ocean, 446. 

Indian Race, 33. 

Indian and French Wars, 268. 

Inquisitionists, Spanish, 311. 

Intrepid, Privateer, 2S7. 

Iowa, 423, 478. 

Ireland, 211, 212, 213, 219, 334, 
513. 5!5- 

Irish, Irishmen, 419. 

Isle of Sable, 270, 507. 

Isle of Shoales, S6. 

Isle of Nawset, 194, 195, 198. 

Island, P. E., 513. 

Island of Hayti, 516. 

Italian, 43, 279. 

Iuka, U. S. Str. 482. 

Izcanough, 28. 

Jack, 131, 132, 133, 139. 

Jacques, 17, 

Jamestown, 39, 513. 

James River, 104. 

James, Sir H., 127. 

Japan, 468, 517. 

Javin, 385. 

Jedediah, 81. 

Jefferson, Schr. and Ciew, 516 

Jefferson, Prest., 354. 

Jesuit Brethren, 46S. 

Jews, 24, 75, 311. 



INDEX. 



hlh 



Jewell, Bishop, 123. 

job, 229, 243, 293. 352. 385. 

Joe, Blind, 86. 

Joe, Slave, 227, 228. 

Joliet, 468. 

John's Angel, 436. 

Johnson, 179, 421, 496, 502. 

Johnny O'Rouk's House, 34. 

Jonas, 367. 

Jones, 68, 69, 70, 77, 287, 355. 

9 Joseph, 462, 497. 
Joshua, 335, 436. 
Joubert, 15. 
Josepha, Bark, 513. 
Jove, 471. 

Joy, Schr. and Crew, 498. 
Judge Advocate, 479. 

Kathrina, 333. 

Kenna, Thomas, 502. 

Kelley, 289, 512, 516. 

Kentucky, 435. 

Kendall, 214. 

Kennebec, 444. 

Kenney, 302, 489. 

Kent Chancellor, 370. 

Kentish, 261. 

Kenroyn River, 119. 

Keith, Rev. Benj., 312, 316, 317. 

Kibby, Rev. Epaphras, 312. 

Kidd, Capt. Wm., 222-3. 

King, Arthur, 34, 132. 

King, Charles, 27, 134, 267. 

King, David, 425. 

King, George, 225, 283. 

King, James, 28, 30, 45, 51, 173. 

King, John, 120. 

King, Philip, 27-S. 

King Phillip's Lodge, 108. 

King, Robert, 266. 

King William and Queen Mary, 
222. 

King's Chapel, 258, 259. 

King's English, 128. 

King's Highway, 80. 

King of, 104, 105. 

Kingsley, Charles, 219. 

Kingston, 35, 475- 

Kinsale, 419. 

Kilmahoe, 144. 

Killingly, 285. 

Knight, Anne, 391. 

Knights of the Round Table, 132. 

Knowles, 96, 233, 237-8, 248, 
256-8, 39". 488-9, 493-4, 
496-8, 504, 511, 516. 

Knowles, James Paul, 481. 

Knowles, Samuel, 475-6. 

Kremlin, 501. 

Kurtland, Capt. Wilhelm, 517. 

Lombard, 84, 87, 90, 92, 174, 224 : 
230, 232, 237, 238-242, 248. 
273, 280, 303, 359, 391. 

Lombard, 301, 303, 355. 39°. 39 s : 
441, 4SS-9, 492-4, 49^-7: 
49S-9, 517. 

Lombard, Capt. David and Fam- 
ily, 39 r >, 441- 

Lombard, Benj. and Family, 397. 

Lombard, Richard T., 479. 

Lombard, Benj. K., 477. 

Lombard University, 397. 

Lombard and Whitmore, 398. 

London, 54, 76, 112, 119, 134, 141 
179,265, 267,336,423,443 
489, 516. 

London Fishmongers, 460. 



Londonderry, 344. 
Longfellow, 35, 268. 
Long Island, 224 497. 
Long Point, 48, 53, 253, 43'- 
Long Nook, 71, 91, 225, 341, 348, 

4'3- 
Longship's Lighthouse, 34, 133, 

231. 
Long Ned, 419. 
Lord s Dish, 120. 
Lord Bishops, 120, 334. 
Lord's Free People, 44. 
Lords of the Isle, 127. 
Lord's Day, 174. 
Lord Brethren, 334. 
Los Angelos, 289. 
Louis the Fourteenth, 269. 
Louisburg, 269, 270, 271, 274, 279. 
Lowe, Thomas, 477. 
Lowell Institute, 130. 
Lowell, James Russell, 433. 
Lovell's Creek, 83. 
Lowlands, 343. 
Lundy's Island, 130. 
Luno, 60. 
Luck, 365. 

Lucky Fishermen, 366. 
Luther, 41. 
Lycidas, 132. 
Lydia and Sophia, no. 
Lydd, 4S3. 
Lynn, 118, 
Labrador, 268, 337"9, 377, 392, 

420. 
Laches, 255. 
Lacy, 46. 
Lady Rolle, 123. 
Laguirie, 497. 
Laha, John, 489. 
Laird, Robert W., 481. 
Lake Ponchetrain, 208. 
Lamb, Charles, 188, 42 r. 
Land's End, 34, 119, 127, 132. 
Lander, 126. 
Land Value, 225. 
Land Bank Scheme, 231. 
Langdon, Solomon. 311. 
Lambord, Rev. Benj. F., 316. 
Larkin, 389. 
Lothrop, John, 78, 176. 
Latin and Greek, 151. 
Lasalle, 468. 

Laureath to Lastwithal, 131. 
Lapham, Wm. H., 181. 
Laud, Archbishop, 51. 
Laughton, Acting Ensign, 480. 
Legislature, 218, 401, 440, 443. 

44.8. 
Legislative Committee, 443. 
Lebanon, 188. 
Lewis, 93, 176, 225, 235, 239, 242, 

292, 302, 493, 495, 496-7, 

507. 
Lee, 495, 516. 

Lee, Rev. Jesse, 309, 310, 31 1. 
Leyden, 46. 

Letters of Marque, 355-6. 
Letters of Acceptance, 237. 
Lenox, 321. 
Lexington, 279. 
Liberty, 355. 
Liberty Poles, 473. 
Liberal Morality, 135. 
Liberal Tricks, 135. 
Libra, 104, 105. 
Life Saving, 67, 207, 498. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 435. 
Lincolnshire, 43. 



Linnel, Solomon, 197. 

Lion, Ship, 68. 

List of Trees, etc., 462-7. 

List of Vessels lost October Gale 

'41, 5°3- 
Little Harbor, 65. 
Little, Rev. Ephraim, 154. 
Little Martha, Schr., 497. 
Lighthouses, 253. 
Lisbon, 361. 
Liverpool, 254, 259, 405, 422, 428, 

442, 489, 496, 5°5- 
Lizard Head, 35, 137. 
Loda, 60. 
Locke, 434. 
Macaulay, 51, 434. 
Macbeth, 33. 
McCabe, Henry, 254. 
Macedonian, 355. 
McFingel, 171. 
Macchiaveili, 277. 
McGregor, 365. 
McTiers, 498. 
Mackeil, Thomas, 104. 
Mackerel Fishery, 248, 397, 426. 
Macready, Rev. Charles, 370. 
Magellan Clouds, 385. 
Magellan Straits, 24. 
Magna Charta, 45, 144. 
Magnolia, 185. 
Magoun, ]. W., 441. 
Mahesha/W. S., Str., 479. 
Mahtrshallalhashbez, 76. 
Mahomet's Coffin, 143. 
Maine, 270, 275, 276, 325. 
Mail, 447. 
Majestic, Eng. Man-of-war., 356, 

358. 
Majesty of God, 240. 
Malay, 24. 
Maiden, 307, 478. 
Mallabarre, 37. 
Mall Peck, 513. 
Malvern Hill. 479. 
Malvina A., Schr. and Crew, 511. 
Manilla, 385. 
Manly, Capt. John, 285. 
Mann, Horace, 439. 
Marquis of Lome, 240. 
Marseilles, 498. 
Martin, Henry, 126. 
Matanzas. 496-7, 511. 
Matthews, Rev., 172. 
Marble, Elias, 312. 
Marblehead, 271, 285. 
Margate, 261. 
Mark Anthony, 391. 
Markham, Gervase, 341. 
Mariaguana, 493. 
Marston, P. F., 402. 
Marquette, 468. 
Marshfield, 75, 248. 
Marco Polo, 446. 
Mason, Rev. Dr. Erskine, 370. 
Mashpees, 85, 159, 457. 
Massassoit, 26, 28 30-2. 
Mass. His. Society, 16, ji, 253, 

259. 
Mass. Gazateer, 143, 337, 454. 
Massachusetts, 32, 99, 134, 183, 

212, 266, 271, 334, 343, 

387, 438. 
Mason of N. H., 38. 
Mather, 36, ti8, 184-5, 226. 
Materia Medica, 420. 
Mayflower, 40, 46-9, 52, 60, 68, 

70, 76, 78, 249, 254, 264, 

348, 429, 515. 



576 



INDEX. 



Mayomoyick, 80. 

Mayhew, 78. 

Mayo, 97, 258, 307, 360-61, 326, 

473. 495, 49 8 - 
Mediasval Ages, 39. 
Mediator, Ship, 422. 
Mediterranean, 104, 360, 385, 420, 

494. 
Melrose, 325. 
Memorial of Boston, 276. 
Merchant, Horace S., 511. 
Merchants' Exchange, 401. 
Merchant, Stephen W., 490. 
Mercutio, 17. 
Merivale, 132. 
Merrick, John, 311. 
Merrill, Rev. Joseph A., 311. 
Merimachimen, 421. 
Meshaum, 29. 
Melbourne, 385. 
Metcalf, 154, 311. 
Methodists, 297, 306, 308, 310, 

315. 363, 380. 
Methodism, 305, 306, 309, 311, 

320. 
Methodist Minister, 305, 306, 313. 
Methodist Preacher, 129, 139, 

297, 3°3- 
Methodist Meeting-house, 310, 

317, 328. 
Methodist Economy, 321. 
M. E. Church in Truro,3i8, 321. 
M. E. Church in Truro, List of 

Preachers, 319. 
Mexico, 248, 268. 
Miami, 188. 

Middleton Springs, 379. 
Middle Ages, 17, 219. 
Middlemarch, 332. 
Middlebury College, 379. 
Mills, Stephen, 300,355, 379. 
Mill, 268. 
Mill Creek, 440. 
Mill Hill, 356. 
Miller, Capt., 112. 
Miller, Hugh, 137. 
Millon, Thomas, 494. 
Milton, 42, 44, 113, 132, 
Ministerial, 233. 
Ministry of N. E. 
Minister's Rate, 310. 
Minot's Ledge, 435. 
Minot's Light, 34. 
■Minutes, General, 305-7, 309, 

3". 312. 
Minerva, 426. 
Mirabeau, 41. 
Mississippi, 106, 213, 252. 
Missouri, 
Mishuamuit, 159. 
Mobile, 517. 
Modena, 447. 
Monamoick Bay, 198. 
Modred, 132. 
Monchase, 88. 
Monongahe'a, 26. 
Monomossett Saginaw, 82. 
Montague, Admiral, in. 
Montague, W. W., 402. 
Monomoy Point, 194, 195, 200. 
Moon Poon Pond, 61, 94. 
Moon Cursing, 141. 
Moors, 469. 
Moses, 66, 217, 420. 
Morton, 198, 249. 
Morris, Geo, 495. 
Mother Country, 118, 202, 274, 
., . 2 76, 279, 333, 354. 
Mother Church, 464. 



Motley, 434. 

Mozart, 500. 

Mourt's Relation, 46, 462. 

Mousehole, 128, 129. 

Mount Auburn, 398. 

Mount Desert, 268. 

Mount Vernon, 142, 254. 

Mountain Waves, 206. 

Muddy Bayou, 476. 

Mulford, Thomas, 92, 152, 161, 

Munger, Philip, 311. 

Mural Tablet, 124. 

Murray Institute, 413. 

Murray, Lindley, 434. 

Mutual Support Club, 474. 

Mycenas, 24, 26. 

Myrick, 161, 299, 369-70, 379, 

5'7- , 
Mysteries of Paris, 443. 
Mysterious Providence, 88. 

Namskeket, 79. 

Nantucket, 60, 109, 111-12, 193- 

5, 205, 253, 431. 
Nashville, 478. 
Narrowhigginsett, 30, 31, 75. 
Naushon, 448. 
Nauset, 191, 197, 200. 
Nauset Harbor, 507. 
National Bank of America, 398. 
Navigation Act, 271. 
Navy, 477. 
Neale, 43. 
Netherlands, 457. 
Necho, 104. 

Nettle, Schr. and Crew, 513. 
Neversink, 506. 
Newcomb, 84, 209, 242, 287, 

351-2, 430. 
Newcomb Point, 430, 440. 
Newcomer, John, 76. 
Newcastle, Eng. Man-of-War, 

358. 
New Bedford, 109, in, 113. 
New County, 230. 
Newfoundland, 39, 204, 264, 265- 

8. 
New England, 39, 40, 51, 54-5, 

60-1, 65, 78, 88, 97, 109, 

in, 151, 179, 185, 212, 

217, 245-6, 250, 251, 253, 

263, 268, 270, 276, 295, 

327, 335,34i,35o,353.383, 

395, 428, 453, 455, 49°, 497- 
New England Plantation, 55. 
New England Quakers, 142. 
New England Sabbath, 167. 
New England Version of the 

Psalms, 239. 
New Holland, 36, 386. 
New Hampshire U. S. Str.,481. 
New Haven Bay, 185. 
New Lights, 90, 297. 
New Orleans, 475-6, 495-7, 489. 
New Providence, 489. 
New World, 3S, 46, 54, 74, 89, 

348. 
New York, 260, 268, 286, 257-8, 

365, 37°, 392,395,422,434, 

441, 453, 5°5- 
New Year's Day, 405. 
Newland, Wm., 172. 
Niagara, U. S. Str., 480. 
Nickerson, 257. 
Nile, 104, 126, 462. 
Noble, Rev. E. W., D. D., 70, 

368, 370, 375-6. 43 6 , 453 

473- 
Nobs, 184. 



Non-Intercourse Act, 354. 
Norfolk, 489, 493, 502, 512, 515. 
Normal School, 413. 
Northwest Passage, 254. 
North Wharf, 431. 
North, 353-4, 473, 484. 
North Atlantic, 206. 
North Atlantic Blockading 

Squadron, 480. 
North America, 33, 39, 40, 264, 

269. 
North Carolina, 474. 
North End, 448. 
North, Hannah, 89. 
North Pole, 457. 
North Sea, 106, 257. 
North Star, 339. 
Northern Gulf, 113. 
Northern Lights, 385. 
Northfleet, 483. 
Norris Island, 475. 
Norseman, 257. 
Norton, Mrs. Mary, 344. 
Norwich, U. S. Str., 481. 
Nottinghamshire, 43. 
Notre Dame, 333. 
Nova Albion, 105. 
Nova Scotia, 99, 268, 275. 
Nye, Sylvanus, 496. 

Oakes, 115, 229, 230. 

Oak Bluff, 517. 

Oakland Tribune, 240. 

Oceanus, 75. 

Oct. Gale of '41, 196, 391, 432, 

502. 5°7- 
O'Connell, 214. 
Ohio, 26, 106. 
Ohio, Rec. Ship, 481. 
Old Colony, 14, no, 172, 175, 

3'4, 333, 339, 345, 386. 
Old Colony Club, 349, 350. 
Old Colony R. R., 327, 431, 441, 

459- 
Old Chapman, 187. 
Old Corners, 78. 
Old Dominion, 142. 
Old England, 55, 221. 
Old Elm, 309. 
Old Grimes, 337. 
Old King Cole, 133. 
Old Jersey, Eng. Man-of-war, 

286. 
Old Libby, 359. 
Old Mill Prison, 285, 287. 
Old Miller, 469. 
Old Mortality, 91. 
Old Meeting-house, 144, 383. 
Old North, 363. 
Old Oaken Bucket, 74. 
Old Pilgrim Society, 350. 
Old Polick Church, 142. 
Old South in Eastham, 80 
Old Tenor, 161. 
Old Way, 91. 
Old World, 335. 
Oliver, Mr., 269. 
Olympian, 471. 
Omaha, 478. 
Onesimus, 228. 
Onslow, Brig, 497. 
Ordination, 154, 238. 
Orleans, 29, 77, 194, 197, 200, 

358, 368, 379, 454- 
Orange, N. J., 368. 
Orion, 374-5- 
Ossian, 436. 
Osborn, Rev. Samuel, 244-5, 

379- 



INDEX. 



577 



Orthodox, 291, 293, 295, 380. 
Orthodox Synod, 180. 
Orthodox Minister, 95. 
Otis, 106, 198, 2S2, 283, 286. 
Otheman, Rev. Bartholomew, 

312, 3S0. 
Owen, Fitz-Pen, 125. 
Owens, Ned, 419. 
Owhyhee, 386, 
Oxnard, 389. 

Pacific Islands, 201. 

Pacific Railroad, 106. 

Pacific Squadron, 479. 

Packet, 445. 

Paddock, Ichabod, m. 

Paine, 80-1, 83, 98, 101, 118, 146- 

7, !S4> 158-9, 208, 216, 221, 
2i7» 358. 39o, 493-9. 44i. 
444. 45i- 

Paine, 209, 230-1, 273, 284, 2S6, 

325, 360, 368, 413, 488-9, 

505,508,511,515. 
^aine, Jonathan, S3, 216, 220, 

225-6, 228, 245, 554. 
;>aine, Dea. Barnabas, 62, 91, 

162,226, 231-3, 237-8, 247- 

8, 257, 273, 488, 494, 496, 
500-2. 

°aine, Dea. Moses, 161-3, 166, 

224,235, 246, 487. • 

Paine, Mrs. Hannah, i8r. 
^aine, Robert Treat, 94. 
Paine, Josiah of Harwich, 487. 
Paine, A. Elliot, 478. 
Paine, Elkanah, Jr., 475. 
Paine, Henry R., 474. 
Paine, J. T., 476. 
Paine, Josiah R., 476. 
Paine, Samuel, 478. 
Paine Hill, 
Pale-Face, 25, 67. 
Palestine, 190, 202. 
Palmer, Mary, 302. 
Pamet, 27-31, 80-98, 116, 423, 

460. 
Pamet Harbor, 56, 67, 92, 253, 

429, 441. 
Pamet River, 74, 224-5, 243, 

461. 
Pamet Bay, 327. 
Papen, 93. 
Papist, 266. 
Paran Wilderness, 66. 
Parran Porth, 219. 
Parent State, 334. 
Parker, Rev. Samuel, 242, 282, 

300, 310. 
Parker, Theodore, 40. 
Parkersburg, 106. 
Parish Meetings, 319. 
Parliament, 35, 39, 134, 265, 270, 

272, 276, 334, 355. 
Parnassus, 42. 
Parnell, 214. 
Pattersonville, 481. 
Pawkumawkutts, 28. 
Pauline, Bark, 511. 
Peaked Hills, 283, 492. 
Peaked Hills Bars, 507. 
Pearce, Reuben, 482. 
Pearce, Henry, 423. 
Pedang, 385. 
Pendennis, 128. 
Pendergrace, J. S., 475, 502. 
Pennsylvania, 474. 
Penny-gwin-guic, 128. 
Pentecostal, 319. 
Pea-von-las, 132. 



Penzance, Pirates, 139, 204, 457. Portugal, 264, 419. 



Pepperell, 270. 
Pequots, 27. 
Perry, 355, 401. 
Peter, David, 81, 91. 
Peter, Pindar, 126. 
Peterson, T. L., 481. 
Petersburg, 477, 479. 
Pews, 147, 149. 
Pharoah's 24, 104, 344. 
Pharisee, 311 
Philemon, 22S. 
Philip, 272, 279. 
Phillips Decatur, 503. • 
Philosopher's Stone, 461. 
Phoenicians, 104, 133, 139 
Physical Geography, igo. 



Portuguese, 420. 

Post-Boy, 444-5, 500. 

Postmaster General, 443. 

Polanumatack, 30. 

Polar Star, 384. 

Potter, Judge, 27. 

Potomac, 254. 

Pratt, 90, 434. 

Prime Minister, 366. 

Presbyterians, Scotch-Irish, 

Precinct, 106-7. 

Prescott, Margaret J., 56. 

Presented, 220. 

Presiding Eldei 

Prince Albert, Schr. & Crew, 503. 

Prince and Bosworth, 248. 



Pickering, Rev. George, 309, Princeton Collegr, 364 

3"- Prince, Gov. Thomas, 79, 172 

Pierce, 287, 312. Prince Chronology, 158. 

Pike, 257, 413, 473, 493, 496. Prince, 198. 

Pilchard, 141. Privateers, 285, 287. 

Pilgrims, 14, 2S-32, 39-48, 61-77, Promethean, 133. 

169, i8S,24g, 258, 311, 314, Proprietors of Pamet, 80. 



333, 343, 347, 429- 
Pilgrim City, 109. 
Pilgrim Fathers, 51. 
Pilgrim Hall, 40, 197. 
Pilgrim Historians, 54. 
Pilgrims in Holland, 45. 
Pilgrim League, 31. 
Pilgrims or Separatists, 43. 
Pilgrims as Scholars, etc., 51. 
Pilgrim Society, 350. 
Pine planting, 214. 
Pine Trees in the Moon, 436. 
Piscataqua, 38. 
Pitts, Wm., 472. 
Plains of Abraham, 274, 279. 
Plantagenet, Henry, 335. 
Plato, 215, 255, 435, 472. 
Pleasant St., 251. 
Pleiades, 385. 
Pliny, 25, 229. 
Pluto,' 23. 
Plymouth, 28, 30, 46, 60. 74- 



Proprietors removed. 82 

Proprietors, 1730, 230. 

Province Tax, 252. 

Provincial Congress, 232. 

Providence of God, 24S. 

Prologue to Canterbury Tales, 
160. 

Province Lands, 106-7, 443- 

Provincial Treasury, 226, 272. 

Provincial Tax, 274. 

Provincetown, 18, 76, 85, 107 
109, 12S, 183, 201, 206-7 
217, 219, 231, 257, 260 
263, 271, 277, 282, 294 
305, 312, 327, 336-60, 377 
392. 4i3. 432, 442-3, 448 
. 453, 498. 

Provincetown Harbor, 47, 272 
_ 280, 283, 306, 459. 

Provincetown Act of Incorpora 
tion, 107. 

Provincetown Advocate, 201, 508. 



77, 79, 85, 119, 276, 288, Provincetown Mission, 101. 



360, 479, 462, 517 
Poachers, 102. 
Pocahontas, 26, 268. 
Pocahontas, U. S. Str., 480 
Poet- Laureate, 26. 
Poker Flats, 83. 
Point Care, 193-5, 198. 
Point Gilbert, 193-5, 198. 
Polkenhorn, 344. 
Polwhele, 26. 
Pomona, Schr. and Crew, 503, Punch Bowl, 344, 

506. Probate Office, 344. 

Porapey, 179. Prospect Hill, 286. 

Pomp's Lot, 251. Protest against Slavery, 250. 

Pompeii, 24. Protest of 1795, 306. 

Pond Village, 61-2, 67, 145, 259, Prout, Father, 420. 

280, 283, 286, 299, 380, Psalms, 240. 

496-7, 516. Pythagoras, 24. 

Pond Landing, in, 113, 260, 



Provincetown Quit Claim, 201, 

. 5°8. 
Public Schools, 439. 
Pulsifer, David, 199. 
Pumpkin Pie, 347. 
Puritan, 18, 41, 43, 55, 75, 87, 
149-50, J 6S-9, 198, 215, 
296, in, 370. 
Puritans of Epworth, 314. 
Purington, 157, 230,232. 



,489, 512, 5'5- 
Poole, 1 1 5-6. 
Pope, 272. 

Popular Election, 135. 
Polanumaquut, Harbor, 197. 
Portland, 366. 
Portsmouth, 35, 244. 
Porto Bello, 105. 
Port Hudson, 476. 
Port Hood, 514. 
Port Warden, 392. 
Port au Prince, 496, 502, 512. 
Port Royal, 479. 



Quakers, 27, 172. 

Quarterly Conference, 306. 

Quason, John, 82. 

Quebec, 274, 468. 

Queen Anne, 295. 

Queen Charlotte's Island, 495. 

Queen Elizabeth, 14, 23, 35, 39, 

123, 266. 
Queen Mary, 14. 
Queen Mother's Junk, 68. 
Queen of Sheba, 315. 
Queen Victoria, 127, 295, 350. 
Quincy Market, 401. 



-.78 



INDEX. 



Rabbis, 183. 
Rabelias, 17. 
Race Point, 34, 36, 47-8, 253. 

493, 49 6 "7. 5°7- 

Rachel, 490-1. 

Raggat, Com'dr, 358. 

Rainsborough, 35. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 35, 38, 264. 

Rambler, 516. 

Ramsgate, 261. 

Rasselas, 434. 

Red Lion, 126, 136, 344. 

Red River, 475-6. 

Red Sea, 104, 344. 

Reform, Schr., 503, 507. 

Release, Bark, 480. 

Religion, 25. 

Remember, Resolved, 75. 

Renaissance, 42. 

Resolute, Str., 127. 

Resolution, 287. 

Restriction on Fisheries, 2S7. 

Revolutionary War, 209, 232, 
242, 274,279,286,353,356, 
444. 459> 473, 4$7- 

Rhine, 127. 

Rich, 93, no, 114, 163, 184, 224, 
238-9, 247, 251-2, 254, 257, 
273, 277, 279-81, 2S3, 287, 
290, 296-7, 307, 320-6, 
340. 3S5-S, 435, 44o, 445, 
489,493-3, 5°i, 512, 515. 

Rich, E. H., Brig, 516. 

Rich, Hiram, 483. 

Rich, Isaac, 406, 410. 

Rich, Jeremiah H., 474. 

Rich, John S., 478. 

Rich, Lord, 69. 

Rich, Matthias and Family, 195, 
413, 504, 506. 

Rickham, Jacob, 311. 

Rider, 257, 297, 301, 306, 366, 
471, 4S9. 

Rider, John C, 476-7. 

Ridler's Bank, 208-9. 

Right of Search, 354. 

River Chebar, 290. 

River La Platte, 494. 

Robinson, Mr. John, 44. 

Roberts, Rev. Oiin, 312. 

Robin Hood, 139. 

Robbins, Albert, 500-1. 

Rock of Plymouth, 52. 

Rocky Mountains, 106, 346. 

Rogers 75,81,87, 195, 197. 

Roman, 41, 119, 257, 46S. 

Romans, 109, 137, 257. 

Rome, 109, 150, 16S, 468. 

Romulus and Remus, 462. 

Roscius, 390-1, 505. 

Roundhead, 296. 

Rous, Francis, 240. 

Roxbury, 481. 

Royal Albert, 71. 

Royal Charter, 334. 

Royal Cornwall His. Soc, 126. 

Royal Exchange, London, 46. 

Royal George, 425. 

Royal Institution of Cornwall, 
126. 

Royal Society of London, 226. 

Royal Seal, 99. 

Royalist, 296. 

Rugby, 440. 

Ruling Elder, 44, 144, 161, 238, 
379- 

Rum and Molasses, 270. 

Russell, 75, 238, 516. 

Russian, 390. 



Sabbath, r68, 176, 179, 376-7. 

Sabine, 265, 268-9, 274, 419, 476. 

Sable Capes, 424. 

Sableaux, 213. 

Sacramental, 168. 

Sahara, 442. 

Saint's Rest, 172. 

Sallemond, 468. 

Salem, 119,285, 490. 

Salisbury, 477. 

Salt Manufacturing, 459, 462. 

Sam Daniel, 100. 

Samoset, 32. 

Sampson, 83. 

Sancho Panza, 469. 

Sancoty Head, 195. 

San Francisco, 105-6, 276, 325, 

370, 401-2, 405. 
Sandwich, 159, 161, 172, 200, 250, 

309, 357, 454,459,462. 
Sandwich Islands, 3S6. 
Sanderson, T. W., 515. 
Santa Rosa, Ship, 515. 
Saponaist, 83. 

Sargent, Paul Dudley, 490-1. 
Saratoga, 26. 
Satucket, 80. 
Saturn, 303. 
Saturday Night, 167. 
Savage, John, 80-1, 
Savage Way, 91. 
Savannah, 481, 494. 
Saxon, 133. • 

Saxon Holdings, 40. 
Scammon, Humphrey, 100. 
Scavelet, 264. 
Schoolhouse, 20, 225, 264. 
School Board, 414. 
School Committee, 414. 
School System, 439. 
Scotia, 390. 

Scotland, 134, 169, 209, 219. 
Scotch Covenanters, 91, 168. 
Scotch Kirk, 240. 
Scotch Presbyterian, 378. 
Scott, Sir Walter, 20. 
Scilly Isles, 34, 133. 
Scituate, 78, 248. 
Scriptures, 209, 315, 322. 
Scrowled Pilchard, 141. 
Scusset, 104. 

Sea of New England, 199. 
Seafaring, 3S4. 
Seamen's Friend Soc, 364. 
Seal Island Rock, 424. 
Sears, 460-1. 
Sears' Folly, 460. 
Second Discovery, 68, 73. 
Seed Corners, 112. 
Selah, John, 300. 
Sellew, 279, 380, 497, 517. 
Seminole, U. S. Str., 48;. 
Senator, Schr. and Crew, 501. 
Senegal, 492. 
Senner, 133. 
Serpent of the South. 
Seven Ponds, 314. 
Sewell, Judge, 103. 
Shakespeare, 17, 42, 185, 390, 

435- 
Shaler, Prof., 192, 204. 
Shang, Painter, 53. 
Shaw, Elinor M., Schr. and 

Crew, 513. 
Shaw, 29S, 494. 
Shawm, 159. 
Shawmut, 159. 
Shell Beds, 96. 
Shell Fish, 188, 190. 



Shenandoah Valley, 476. 

Shoals, 195-6, 493. 

Shining, 75. 

Ship Harbor, 197-8. 

Shirley, Gov., 269. 

Shurtleff, Doctor, 159. 

Shustan, Wm., 487. 

Simpson, Capt. John, 490-1 

Simpson, Rev. M., 167. 

Sinbad, the Sailor, 19S, 248. 

Sleeping Giant, 105. 

Slut's Bush, 194-5- 

Sly, Ed. P., 473. 

Small, 79. 

Smalley, 79, 84, 87-8, 157, \'m, 
204, 209-10, 216, 225, 241, 
257, 2S8, 304, 390, 431, 
493, 497-3, 512. 

Small, James A., 475-6. 

Smith, 29, 34, 44, 81-2, in, 166, 
189, 194, 252, 279-S0, 307, 
325, 359, 488-9, 494-5, 497, 
5°i, 5'3-4- 

Smith, John and Family, 322, 
. 325, 4.3i. 

Smith, Daniel P., 474. 

Smith, Luther, 482. 

Sneath R. Co,, 402. 

Snelliug, Rev. Jos., 305-7, 309. 

Snow, 29, 79-84, 90-2, 98, 103, 
116, 147, 155, 229.238,241, 
255, 257, 281, 284, 287, 

29O-I, 296, 3G2, 344, 359, 

364, 379, 392, 396, 431-6, 

488, 493-7. 5io- 
Snow, Ambrose, 433-6. 
Snow, Isaiah, 474. 
Snow, Shubael A., 478. 
Snow Birds, 434. 
Snow's Point, 442. 
Society, M. E., 310-n. 
Socrates, 255, 468. 
Sojourners, in. 
Solomon, 17, 345. 
South, 497. 

South Truro M. E. Church, 316. 
South Truro M. E. Church. 

List of Preachers, 317. 
South Atlantic, 481, 515. 
South Ship Channel, 195, 504. 
South Wharf, 431. 
South Sea, 104-5, 267. 
Southern, 353, 470. 
Southern Cross, Ship, 385, 402, 

5i5- 
Southern Ocean, 104. 
Southey, 184, 321. 
Southac, Capt. Cyprean, 199,2^2. 
Southworth, Constant, 258. 
Somerset, Eng. Man-of-war, 282, 

283. 
Somerville, 370, 401, 405, 448, 

453- 
Sparrow- Hawk Story, 197. 
Spear, Rev, ic8, 162, 220, 231. 
Spencer, 358. 
Spencer, Herbert, 347. 
Spring Lane, 159. 
Squanto, 32. 
Squapenick, 
Sternhold, Thomas 239. 
Sternhold and Hopkins, 239. 
Stetson, M. D., Bark, 515. 
Stewart, A. T., 365-6, 427. 
Hill, Jesse, 497. 
Spain, 248, 360, 384, 420, 469, 

492. 
Spanish, 39,272, 294, 311, 358, 

361. 



INDEX. 



67* 



Spanish Main, 428. 
Springer, James, 490. 
Stamp Act, 276. 
Standish, Miles, 26, 29-30, 59-60 

.62-3, 75-7, 79, 361. 
Standish, Lora, 339. 
Star Island, 86-7. 
Star-gazers, 139. 
State Constitution, New, 281. 
Staten Island, 495. 
Stebbins, Rev. H., 402. 
Steele, 90, 94, 311-12. 
Sterling Money, 272. 
Stetson, Count Robert, 248. 
Stevens, 85, 100, 163, 225, 280, 

355.447, 489,493,497. 5'7 
Stevens, Capt. Levi and Family, 

401-5. 
Stevens, Rev. Dr. Abel, 306. 
Stevens, Baker & Co., 402. 
Steven's Bank, 208. 
Stevens' Cemetery, 405. 
Stoddard, Rev. Charles A., D. 

D., 375- 
Stone, 75, 85, 154, 310, 370, 456, 

467. 
Stout's Creek, 61, 218. 
Stoxa Fixa, 246. 
Strawberries, 65. 
Stuart, 37. 
Suez Canal, 104. 
Sudbury, East, 298. 
Suet, 460. 

Suffolk Co., 257, 370. 
Sulla, 264. 
Sumpter, 473. 
Sun Temples, 25. 
Sunday Fishing, 376. 
Sullivan, 490-1, 515. 
Swinam, 489. 
Sweat, Joseph, 487. 
Swift, 342. 

Sylvester, Old Joshua, 173. 
St. Andrew, 219. 
St. Clear, 137. 
St. Colomb, 13S, 344. 
St. Ambrose, 433. 
St. Ives, 35, 126, 141, 219. 
St. John, 71. 
St. John's River, 481. 
St. Germans, 120. 
St. Keyne, 137. 
St. Pierre, 
St. Maws, 128. 
St. Mary's, 120, 123. 
St. Paul's, 169, 274, 468. 
St. Paul's Cross, 123. 
St. Peter's, 114, 496. 
St. Priams, 137. 
St. Prian, 219-20. 
St. Patrick's, 219. 
St. Saviour, 268, 274. 
St. Louis, 389. 
St. Lucas, 489. 
St. Louis, U. S. Str., 479. 

Tamar, 71, 344. 

Tanfield, Sir Francis, 264. 

Tariff, 248. 

Tartar, 24. 

Tarsus, 388. 

Tashmuit, 91, 96, 98, 146, 152, 

159, 426. 
Tate and Bradv, 239-40. 
Tauranian Nations, 24. 
Taylor, 339, 377. 
Tecumsah, 26. 
Telegraph Hill, 60. 
1'ennessee, U. S. Str., 480. 



Tennyson, 251. 

Ten Thousand Dollar Job, 218 
Tenney, Dr. Samuel, 252. 
, Thatcher, 226. 
Thayer, Dr. Wm., 283, 493. 
Thanksgiving, 179, 346, 441. 
Thalab3, 133. 
Thebes, 24. 
Theseus, 23. 

Theatre, Schr. and Crew, 497. 
Third Discovery, 76. 
Thomas, 24S, 495, 497, 501. 
Thoreau, 79, 151-2, 202, 213, 

222, 244,255, 296, 340, 442, 

447- 
Three East Indiamen, 491. 
Three Lights, 194, 253. 
Three Salem Ships, 491. 
Tidal Wave, 191. 
Tintegal, 132. 
Tithing-raan, 175. 
Tobacco, 173. 
Tom Brown, 440. 
Tom Hood's Works, 418. 
Tom's Hill, 67, 74. 
Toningen, 494. 
Tormentosa, H., 213. 
Torquay, 453. 
Touamaton, Joseph, 81. 
Towner, 112. 
Town Cove, 200. 
Town Hall, 371. 
Townsend, Vt., 368. 
Trabow, John, 496. 
Tradition, 459. 
Tragothian, 127. 
Training Field, 255. 
Tregegle, 131, 184. 
Treason Law, 281. 
Treat, 97-8, 221, 244, 258, 290, 

302-3, 489, 493- 
Trelawn, 137. 
Tremain, Col. Arthur, 136. 
Trenowgth, John, 128. 
Trevylyn, Kitty, 336. 
Trinity Church, 176. 
Triton, 1 12. 
Triumvirate, The, 295. 
Truro, Act of Incorporation, 117. 
Truro Astronomer, 303. 
Truro Academy, 370-1, 438. 
Truro Benevolent Society, 432. 
Truro Breakwater Co., 429. 
Truro Baron, Thomas Wilde, 

127. 
Truro Castle, 120. 
Truro Cathedral, 124. 
Truro Charter, 99. 
Truro Church Records, 228. 
Truro, Knox County, 141. 
Truro Lyceum, 229. 
Truro Marine Insurance Co., 

432 
Truro Monument, 502, 50S. 
Truro, Ohio, 142. 
Truro Parish, Va., 141. 
Truro Pond Harbor Ass., 262. 
Truro patriotically, 286. 
Truro Packet. 435. 
Truro River, 119, 126. 
Truro Recommendation, 443. 
Truro School Board, 413. 
Truro Skippers, 430. 
Truro Station, 142. 
Truro Street, 142. 
Truro, East, 1 16-7. 
Trustees M. E. Church, 318. 
Try House Lot, no. 
Tucke, Rev. Mr., 87. 



Tucker, 193, 369. 
Turner, 162-3, 235-6, 363. 
Turk, 501. 
Turk Island, 511. 
Tuders, 341. 
Tusser, 341. 
Twenty-five Years, 371. 
Tyndale, 14. 

Ulysses, 26, 492. 
Uncle, 384, 422, 433. 
Union, The, 28:. 
Union, U. S. Str., 482. 
Union Church, 379-80, 383. 
Union Church, List of Preath- 

ere, 383. 
Union Company's Store, 444. 
Union Pacific R. R., 392. 
Union Society, 380. 
Union Wharf, 430. 
United Colonies, 169. 
United States, 170, 285, 353, 370, 

. 443. 45°-7- 
United States Surplus, 458. 
University of Penn, 364. 
Universalists, 441. 
Universalist Church, 414. 
Unitarian, 256, 293, 392. 
Uphara, 162, 237-9, 241-4, 28- 1, 

319- 
Utrecht, 268. 
Uz, 293. 

Valparaiso, 385. 

Vanderbilt, 427. 

Van Ostadc, 456. 

Venice of New England, 443. 

Vermont, 316, 367. 

Vesper, 504. 

Vickery, 81, 161, 221, 225, 270, 

487- 
Vicksburg, 475. 
Victor Hugo, 41, 333. 
Victoria Hotel, 141. 
Vineyard Sound, 253. 
Vineyard Islands, 28, 34, 109, 

'94-5. 242, 3°9. 5° 8 - 
Vineyard Haven, 515. 
Virginia, Schr. and Crew, 514. 
Virginia, 105-6, 250, 254, 516-17. 
Virginia Continent, 106. 
Virginia Co. in Eng., 105. 
Virginia Leaf, 142. 
Virginia War Reference, 475, 

477 ' ■ 
Viscount Vivian, 123-5. 

Violet, a Slave, 241. 

Voltaire, 41. 

Volutia, Ship, 492. 

Vulture, Eng. Man-of-war, 286. 

Wading Place, 61, 248. 
Waddington, Rev. John, 44. 
Waldemar, Schr., 196. 
Walden Pond, 255. 
Wales, Prince of, 37, 123, 265. 
Walker, 258, 375. 
Walton, Old Izaak, 43. 
Wampannoags, 28, 31. 
Ward, Rev. B. C, 192. 
Warren, Annie C., Schr. and 

Crew, 517. 
Wars of 1812, 426, 445. 
Warwick, Lord, 68. 
Wars, ecclesiastical, 152. 
Washington, George, 104, 142, 

254,443- 
Washington, D. C, 474, 476. 

495- 



580 



WtoEX. 



Washington, Schr., 493. 

Washing Fish, 457. 

Watergrass Hill, 420. 

Water Poet, 173. 

Water Witch, 504. 

Waygenesec Bay, 103. 

Wayland, 479. 

Webb, 320, 489. 

Webb s Island, 194-5, 200. 

Webster, Daniel, 350, 386, 443. 

Weeks, Rev. Smith, 311. 

Welch, Capt.Daniel Warren. 515. 

Weld, Baker & Co. 395. 

Wellfleet, 109, 112, 115, 200, 208. 
222, 252-3 257, 260, 305, 
307-8, 311-12, 315,319.326- 
27. 368, 364, 368, 379, 377, 
406,410, 443, 456, 459. 

Wellfleet Harbor, 76. 

Wellfleet, District of, 252. 

Wellfleet Oysterman, 222, 442. 

Wellington, 34, 152. 

Wells, 242, 339. 

Welcome Return, Schr. and 
Crew, 496. 

Wesley, Charles, 116, 133. 

Wesley John, 133, 137, 184, 313- 
14, 326. 

Westgate, Rev. Ansel W., 375. 

West, 401, 457. 

West Sea, 105. 

West Indies, 253, 270. 

West Gulf Squadron, 480. 

Westminster Declaration, 43. 

Westminster Divines, 240. 

Western Adventurer, 446. 



Western City, 334. 

Western Farmer, 212. 

Western Lands, 212. 

Western Ocean, 495. 

Western World, 173, 477, 481. 

Western Tribes, 23. 

Wesleyan Academy 413. 

Weymouth, 35. 

Whales, 109-14. 

Whale, Ship, 114. 

Whaling, 109. 

Whaling House, 88. 

Whaling House Hill, no. 

Wharf, 195, 477, 517. 

Wheeler, 478. 

Whig Platform, 472. 

Whidah, 199-200, 222. 

Whitefield, 90. 

Whitehead, 490. 

White Point, 36. 

White, 75, 359, 369, 402, 435. 

Whittier, 173. 

Whitney, Rev. Samuel, 311-12. 

Whitman, Rev. Levi, 112, 242, 

253,286. 
Whitehall, 475. 
Wiff, Uncle, 367. 
William, Schr. 500. 
Williams, 26, 60, 65, 161, 173, 

238. 
Williams College, 368. 
Williamstown, 368. 
Willard, Rev. Elijah, 311, 312. 
Wilber, Rev. Warren, 311. 
Wilders, 473. 
Wilderness, 477, 479. 



Wiley, Rev. Ephraim, 312. 
Wilkinson, Canon, 123. 
Wilson, John, 476, 477. 
Windward Islands, 447. 
Winslow, 30, 46, 66, 75, 334, 476, 

493- 
Winthrop, 15. 27, 36, 51, 550. 
Winter, Samuel, 221. 
Winterwemet, 30. 
Woburn, 179. 
Wocknotchcoyisset, 106. 
Wood End, 48, 253, 431, 493, 

496. 
Wolf, Gen. 274. 
Wonder-working Providence, 

179. 
Wordsworth, 55. 
Wormley, 245. 
Wreck, ancient, 197. 
Wrestling, 75. 
Wyer Bottom Church, 475. 
Waban, ship, 515. 
Yale, 351 
Yallaly, Rev. Robert, 307, 309, 

3"- 
Yankee, 75, 134, 274, 280, 346, 

355.422,433- 
Yarmouth, 35, 167, 172, 200, 327, 

459- 
Yarmouth Meeting-house, 174. 
YarroWj 17. 

Yorkshire, 43, 285, 326. 
Yokohama, 517. 
Young, 50, 53, 74, 91, 103, 208, 

216, 252, 287. 
Young Tell, Schr. 447. 



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